The urbanisation of urban villages has been phenomenal triggered by over concentration of anthropogenic activities that degraded all the facet of the area through the development of slum and shanty settlements. This decay and dilapidation however, is accompanied by serious population pressure and total neglect of redevelopment investors. This research determines the redevelopment of urban villages in Port Harcourt Nigeria. Data for this study were obtained acquired from both primary and secondary sources. The result of the analysis indicated that environmental impact of urban renewal beaconed on (r = 385, P< 0.5), economic advantages (r = 302 P< 0.5), social impact (r = 205, P< 0.5), physical impact recorded (r = 225, P< 0.5) are the key significant impact of redevelopment and right direction for elimination of slums and shanty in villages that constitute the present and typical urban settlement in developing nation. The findings also revealed that government institutions accounted (49.9%), global bodies on environment (22.1%) non-governmental organisation (6.1%), communal effort (10.7%) and environmental philanthropist are the key urban village redevelopment investors in Nigeria. This is the only way to ensure sustainability of urban villages and improve the resident’s quality life in the geographical region.
Page(s): 01-06 Date of Publication: 15 May 2021
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Nzoia River Basin lies entirely within Kenya along the border with Uganda in the Lake Victoria Basin, and has a population of about 3.7 million people that is rising rapidly with increased water demand. Majority of the people live in rural areas. Unreliable water supplies is a common feature in many developing countries and it threatens the health of millions of people around the world. This study examines the household coping strategies to unreliable water supplies and the factors influencing the choice of strategies in Nzoia River Basin. A cross-sectional research design was used in the study. Three counties were randomly selected from the basin for study with Busia representing the lower catchment, Kakamega middle catchment and Trans Nzoia upper catchment. The study used questionnaire surveys, in-depth expert interviews with selected stakeholders from the water sector, academia and scientists and field observations to examine the Household coping strategies for unreliable water supplies in the basin. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The study identified 18 household coping strategies to unreliable water supplies in the basin. Households use more than one strategy to cope with the problem of unreliable water supplies. There are some strategies which are adopted by large numbers of households whereas the others have only a few households using them. Water storage through storage tanks, roof tanks, drums, pots, buckets and bottles is the most preferred strategy by households followed by collecting water from alternative sources such as springs, rivers, dams and wells; using water sparingly/ limiting water use; treating water through boiling, filtration and chlorination; and drilling wells and boreholes. Strategies like improving water quality; enhancing pressure; rainwater harvesting in the rainy season; installing booster pumps, electrical and hand pumps; installing extra storage space; rescheduling major household activities to when water is available; buying water from neighbors, private tankers, donkey-cart owners, bottled water; moving to another house or area estate with water and community fundraising for construction of water supply are also important to the households in addressing problems of unreliable water supplies in the basin. Other strategies like recycling water; protesting and complaining to authorities; economizing on water use by reduced frequency of baths and economizing on water use by reduced number of meals in a day or altered diet are less important. The choice of household coping strategies used against unreliable water supplies was found to be influenced by socio-economic status: income, education; land tenure and lack of reliability. Unreliable/intermittent water supplies have imposed significant coping burdens to households in the basin. Assessing household coping strategies to unreliable water supplies and the factors influencing the choice of strategies in the basin will provide valuable insights for policy makers, water service providers and national and county governments while planning for improved water supply services. The findings of this study are important to the national and county governments within Nzoia River Basin as it provides a major shift from focusing on water supplies coverage (now widely used in the basin) to improvements in the quality of services anchored on water supplies reliability. This is the focus of the Sustainable development goals, target 6.1, which aims at achieving universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by the year 2030.
Page(s): 07-14 Date of Publication: 15 May 2021
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Background: The transitional area of the cervix has variable histological features due to constant changes following irritation by hormones, infection as well as trauma. These changes range from squamous metaplasia to cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and invasive cancers. Women with HIV infection are prone to premalignant and malignant lesions of the cervix due to immunosuppression and persistent co-infection with the highly oncogenic human papilloma virus serotypes. They are therefore thought to be sexually transmitted and they contribute significantly to reproductive ill-health and mortality among women. Objective: This was to determine the actual prevalence of precancerous and cancerous lesions of the cervix using histological assessment among HIV positive women receiving care at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Alakahia between August and June 2015. Materials and Methods: One hundred HIV positive women on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) were recruited randomly for the study with an uptake rate of 96%. Informed consent was obtained and data collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. They all had cervical biopsies and the specimens were processed by the histotechnologist and reported by the histopathologist. Data analysis was done using SPSS. Results: The mean age of patients was 37.0 ± 6.6 years and the mean age of those with dysplasia was 38.1 ± 6.6 years. The age range of the patients was 21-56 years with the highest number of respondents (27.1%) in the 30- 34 years group. This was closely followed by 35-39 years with 26.0%. Majority of the patients (49.0%) were married and the others were either single, divorced or widowed. Most of the patients had at least secondary education (38.5% and 37.5% for tertiary and secondary levels of education respectively). The parous women weresixty (62.5%) while the nulliparous women were thirty six(37.5%).Thirty-four (35.4%) of the respondents had their first sexual intercourse before eighteen years of age while fifty-five (57.3%) had it after the age of eighteen. Seven (7.3%) had no idea of their age at first sexual exposure. Nineteen (19.8%) of them had five or more lifetime sexual partners while sixty-six (68.8%) had two to four sexual partners. Six (6.2%) have had one and five (5.2%) did not respond.Seventeen (17.7%) of the respondents had CD4 counts less than 250 cells/mm3, thirty (31.3%) had values between 250 to 499 cells/mm3 while forty-nine (51.0%) had 500 cells/mm3 and above. Thirty-six (37.5%) were normal, twenty (20.8%) had cervicitis, twenty-three (24.0%) had CIN I, ten (10.4%) had CIN II, six (6.3%) had CIN III and one (1.0%) had endocervical polyp. Conclusion: There is need for women with HIV infection to be screened regularly considering the high prevalence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia among them.
Page(s): 15-19 Date of Publication: 15 May 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8401Download PDF
Optimum conditions for the production of a non-alcoholic beverage from Sorghum Stem Sheath (SSS) and three local spices were investigated. The drink was developed from combinations of important variables, Alligator Pepper, AP (0.00, 0.75, 1.50 g/100 ml), ginger (0.00, 0.75, 1.50 g/100 ml), garlic (0.00, 0.75, 1.50 g/100 ml), Extraction Temperature, ET (80, 90, 100 oC) and Time of Extraction, TOE (10, 25, 40 min) based on a modification of fractional central composite rotatable design with 32 runs in three replicates using Design-Expert software (version 6.0.8). Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was applied as an optimization technique over eight response variables: Total Phenols Content (TPC), Vitamin C Content (VCC), 1,1-diphenyl -2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), Total Carotenoids Content (TCC), Zinc Content (ZC), Iron Content (IC), Oxalate Content (OC) and Tannin Content (TC). Predictive models for the response variables were developed as a function of the process variables. The conventional graphical method was applied to obtain maximum TPC, VCC, DPPH, TCC and IC, and minimum OC. Second-order polynomials obtained to predict the response variables were all significant (p<0.05) with good correlation coefficients (R2) between 0.895 and 0.937 showing that the models can be used to navigate the design space. Contour plots of each of the response variables were utilized, applying superposition surface methodology to obtain three contour plots for observation and selection of the best (optimum) combination of AP, ginger, garlic, ET and TOE as 1.50 mg/100 ml, 1.49 mg/100 ml, 0.15 mg/100 ml, 80 °C and 40 min, respectively. This combination produced optimized drink with TPC, VCC, DPPH, TCC, IC and OC of 0.22 mg/100 ml, 3.54 mg/100 ml, 61.65%, 699.46 mg/100 ml, 4.16 mg/100 ml and 0.55 mg/100 ml, respectively.
Page(s): 20-28 Date of Publication: 20 May 2021
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The sixteen (16) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), compounds listed by the US EPA for priority attention were quantitated in moss samples in the study area to ascertain atmospheric pollution levels of these compounds. PAHs compounds in the digested samples were identified and quantitated by the gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) technique using column injector in splitless mode. In many of the samples the machine returned Nd, revealing low levels of PAHs contamination in the area. Concentrations of PAHs in the samples ranged from, not detected (Nd) to 7.89 ng/g. Naphthalene, a two-ring PAH showed the most dominance, occurring in 12 of the 15 samples, while benzo[a,h]anthracene, indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene and benzo[ghi]perylene were not detected in any of the samples. Ankpa and Gaadi recorded 0.00 ng/g total PAHs concentration/site, while sample from Modern Market showed highest total PAHs concentration of 11.54 ng/g. Application of molecular ratios in source identification revealed that the PAHs fluxes in the samples derived from both pyrogenic and petrogenic origins.
Page(s): 29-35 Date of Publication: 20 May 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8402Download PDF
Agriculture has proven to be one of the major economic drivers of any country’s economy. Most developing countries have been failing to grow their economies through agriculture due to a number of problems; one of these problems is attributed to the damage pests cause on the crops. Examples of pests being tutaabsoluta and army worms which affect tomato and maize crops, respectively. Botanical pesticides have proved to be an effective method of protecting crops as they are cheaply sourced and their pesticide efficacy can be improved.The efficacy of an improved/ modified pesticide of azadirachtin was determined in comparison with its original form on two different types of pests; viz., on army worms and tutaabsoluta. This was achieved by spraying army worms and tutaabsoluta with four solutions of azadirachtin obtained from the commercial source, extracted one, modified commercial one and modified extracted one. Modification of azadirachtin was done by replacing ester groups with amide groups. Unmodified commercial azadirachtin gave mortalities of 00.0% and 28.6% on army worms and tutaabsoluta respectively while its modified form gave mortalities of 28.6% and 42.9% on army worms and tutaabsoluta, respectively. Unmodified extacted azadirachtin gave mortalities of 28.6% on both army worms and tutaabsoluta while its modified form gave 85.7% and 100 % mortalities on armyworms and tutaabsoluta respectively. Botanical pesticides are a potential remedy to a lot of crop pests in our country and their efficacy can be made better by structural modifications.
Page(s): 36-43 Date of Publication: 21 May 2021
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The aim of this paper was to examine the impact of floods on women given their vulnerability and the inequalities inherent in the social construction of gender.The paper examined the impact of flooding on women in Mbire District’s Ward 10 located along the Hunyani River Valley. The district is one of the most vulnerable areas to floods in Zimbabwe. A total of 50 questionnaires were distributed and 5 focus group interviews conducted. Correlation analysis was used to analyse the repossess from questionnaires while thematic approach used to analyse data from interviews. The main findings were that women were overburdened by disasters in terms of addition responsibilities which creates excess burden. The study showed that women became emotionally overburdened; they become stressed and psychologically depressed in the absence of effective psycho social support initiatives especially during the disaster and post recovery phases of the disaster. After the migration by males, majority of whom abandons their families and start new families elsewhere leavingwomen to assume headship of their households, taking over most of the responsibilities.This often created emotional stress on women whowere still to recover from the disasters and without sustainable sources of livelihoods. Psychosocial or emotional stress were also reported and observed among women due to loss of property, family members and food reserves.The study also noted that women experienced feelings of fear, anxiety and insecurity as a result of their past experiences with the disasters in the Mbire district.The study concluded that women are generally vulnerable to disasters and hence suffer from emotional depression and stress during and after disasters. It is recommended that awareness campaigns be rolled out to women in disaster prone areas to prepare them mentally, socially and emotionally for future disasters.The study also recommends the setting up ofphysical or material reconstruction projects among women in disaster prone areas to economically empower them and ensure that they are not emotionally stressed before and after disaster period. Disaster preparedness skills and livelihoods lifekills in the three phases of the disaster namely, pre, during and post recovery phases be imparted to women to help them to copy with the impact and the effects of the disaster. The training would help reduce the various stresses that women undergo following disasters and help them to recover from the disaster. The paper recommends that policies be developed that allow women to participate in disaster planning activities and decision-making processes related to disaster risk reduction. It is also recommended that dedicated funds be made available for gender mainstreaming in disaster risk reduction policies.
Page(s): 44-49 Date of Publication: 21 May 2021
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Liver diseases have been shown to be highly correlated to excessive consumption of alcohol and other harmful or injurious substances such as drugs and toxins. The Nigeria social milieu cannot do away with excessive consumption of alcoholic-related substances and drugs, which are predominantly consumed on weekends either in parties or clubs. Most Nigeria teenagers and adults alike who are supposedly considered as socially correct indulge in excessive consumption of alcohol and other harmful substances leaving the alcoholic companies and shops smiling to the banks. This unpalatable trend has dire consequences as it raises the figure of liver disease patients, which is mostly confused with other tropical diseases like malaria and as such its manifestation cannot be predicted on time with certainty. Timely diagnosis is a panacea to the management of the disease but this is not the case most times as there are handful of hepatologists that can adequately diagnose this disease since General practitioner might not be able to diagnose them on time. This research seeks to comparatively analyze the performance of Neutrosophic-based Decision Support System and Multilayer Neural Network (Traditional Neural Network) in the classification of Indian Liver Patient Dataset (ILDP) as well as articulate its suitability in the classification or diagnosis of liver disease (ILPD). Object Oriented Analysis and Design methodology was used while the implementation was done using WEKA and Java on a Netbeans platform. Experimental results show that Neutrosophic-Based Decision Support System (NBDSS) with an accuracy of 96.41% using a confusability measurement threshold of 0.003278 performed better than the conventional neural network with an accuracy of 72.45%. This clearly shows that Neutrosophic-based Decision Support System is suitable for the diagnosis of liver diseases.
Page(s): 50-57 Date of Publication: 21 May 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8403Download PDF
Diophantine equations are those equations of theory of numbers which are to be solved in integers. The class of Diophantine equations is classified in two categories, one is linear Diophantine equations and the other one is non-linear Diophantine equations. Both categories of these equations are very important in theory of numbers and have many important applications in solving the puzzle problems. In the present paper, author discussed the existence of the solution of exponential Diophantine equation (72m )+(6(r+1)+1)n=ω2, where m,n,r,ω are whole numbers.
Page(s): 58-60 Date of Publication: 22 May 2021
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Biomethane produced by anaerobic digestion of organic waste is a renewable and sustainable energy that can supplement global energy needs. Existing literature shows that different mixing ratios of the same co-substrates have an impact on biomethane production. In this study, the impact of different mixing ratios of cattle blood and rumen contents on biomethane production was investigated. The physicochemical characteristics of seven samples with different blood and rumen contents were determined. Their biomethane yield was then assessed in laboratory-scale batch digesters at 37o C (mesophilic). The biomethane yields of the samples gave a mean value of 11.25±13.34 which indicates significant variability (p < 0.05). The sample containing 10 ml of bovine blood and 50 ml of rumen contents (S6) gave the highest biomethane yield and can be considered for optimization of biomethane production from these feedstocks.
Page(s): 61-66 Date of Publication: 25 May 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8404Download PDF
The research looked into how street food sellers handled food. The method used was a multistage selection technique. An aggregate of 155 vendors were chosen at random for the survey, and data were composed with designed questionnaire. The study’s analytical instruments were descriptive statistics, likert scales and chi-square. High proportion of merchants were females, with an average age of 38 years. The respondents’ educational levels revealed that 67.6% had only primary education with mean vending experience of 6 years. The food vendors had an awareness index of 80.2% with 64% usage index of recommended food practices. Washing food before cooking, covering food, storage in a hotspot, utensil cleanliness, a hot meal, well-cooked food, wash-kits with hygienic water, and reheating food were the frequently utilized methods. There was positive correlation between awareness and utilization of practices. It has become necessary that vendors are cognizant of all procedures necessary to maintain the safety and suitability of food.
Page(s): 67-71 Date of Publication: 25 May 2021
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The study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of the marketing strategies adopted by Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU), Midlands campus in the marketing of its products. A mixed research design was used because of its flexibility and convenience, which allowed fusion of two different, approaches that is, the quantitative and qualitative method to be used in one study. Because of its interactive nature, the qualitative approach allowed the researcher to draw as much information as possible from the participants. The quantitative approach on the other hand facilitated the presentation, analysis and interpretation of numerical data. Purposive sampling was used to select eighty (80) participants who were drawn from the freshers in the August 2019 intake. Despite many strategies used by the institution, the word of mouth proved to be dominant. Findings further revealed that some people were not aware of the existence of the institution. The study recommends vigorous marketing, that is, the university needs to work hard in order to enhance brand visibility. Study further recommends the need for the institution to evaluate its marketing strategies as well as investing in result oriented marketing strategies. Thus, focus should be directed more on outcome rather than process.
Page(s): 72-79 Date of Publication: 25 May 2021
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This work compares the physicochemical properties and fatty acid (FA) compositions of waste cooking oil (WCO) collected after deep frying periods from local restaurant with samples of refined cooking oil (RCO) produced after degumming, alkaline and bleaching treatments. The refined oil were initially kept/stored in the refrigerator at 4oC and the biodiesel produced was subjected to gas chromatography mass spectroscopy (GCMS) for FA profile, and to Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analyses to monitor esterification reactions. The degree of oil usage affected WCO properties and fatty acid composition. Density of refined cooking oil RCO and WCO varied between 0.90 and 0.93 (g/cm3), and of refined cooking methyl ester (RCME) and waste cooking methyl ester (WCME) between 0.88 and 0.91 (g/cm3). The pH of RCO and WCO varied between 7.36 and 8.61 and that of RCME and WCME between 5.11 and 5.59. The results of RCO and RCME showed corresponding improvements over the WCO and WCME in recovery yield, acid value, saponification value, iodine value, peroxide value, cetane number, kinematic viscosity, pour, smoke, flash, and fire points. Fatty acids analyses similarly showed comparable differences between the RCO and WCO with percent increase in octanoic ethyl acid (276.54%), benzoic acid, butyl ester (69.79%), hexadecanoic acid 15- methyl esters (267.33%) and reduction in 9,17-Octadecanoic acid (99.20%), and 9- octadecenoic acid(35.98%), respectively. The hexadecanoic acid, methyl ester (54.10%) was the most abundant. This result confirms the suitableness of WCO as feedstock for biodiesel.
Page(s): 80-87 Date of Publication: 26 May 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8405Download PDF
Selected vitamins and minerals composition of some indigenous African fermented food condiments: parkia clappertoniana (Nigerian name:‘Irugba’), coloynnthis citrullens (Nigerian name:’Ogiri), piper quineanes (Nigerian name:’lyere’) and complex salt – potassium sesquioxide (Nigerian name:’Kaun’) using the methods described by the Association of Officials of Analytical Chemists (AOAC) and Pearson have been studied. The results for vitamins A, E and K showed the mean values of 76.67, 92.31, 116.92 (mg/100g of sample) for parkia clappertoniana respectively; 52.00, 15.64, 87.42 (mg/100g of sample) for coloynnthis citrullens respectively; and 10.00, 13.33, 28.95 (mg/100g of sample) for complex salt – potassium sesquioxide respectively. The piper quineanes was found to be highly deficient in vitamin A and E but has only 50.00 mg/100g of sample of vitamin K. The condiments have ash contents between 1.7 – 2.2 mg/100g, but significant variations in the minerals occurred in the profile of the different condiments with calcium (25.120 ppm/100g of sample) and potassium (12.330 ppm/100g of sample) were the abundant minerals present in complex salt – potassium sesquioxide followed by parkia clappertoniana (1.510 ppm/100g of sample), while Na Mg, Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn were in micro levels in the other samples suggesting that condiments can sufficiently contribute to our daily minerals and vitamins needs.
Page(s): 88-91 Date of Publication: 26 May 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8406Download PDF
This study examines the early childhood education and social economic status of children between 2 – 5 years of agein Emuoha Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. The results provide evidence of a significant linear relationship between family income and early childhood education. However, there is no evidence of a significant relationship between mothers’ employment status and early childhood education. The study recommends that government educational policies should focus on children at the grass root level and provide unlimited access to quality education regardless of their family socio-economic conditions.
Page(s): 92-99 Date of Publication: 27 May 2021
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Nutrition is an important element in children’s growth and development which includes: physical, cognitive and emotional development. The problem of the malnutrition and its effect on brain development, physical and intellectual functioning has tremendous implications. However, owing to the fact that there are limited studies on nutrition and learning, various studies indicate divergent views on the effect of nutrition on learning among preschool children. For this reason, it is not clear whether or not nutrition affects learning in chemoge zone. The main purpose of the study was to find out the effect of nutrition on learning among preschool children in Chemoge Zone. Thirteen public schools and seven private schools, a total of twenty were sampled out in the study. The study findings on the status of nutrition on learning among preschool children revealed that 25% of children took their meals in the kitchen, 50 % of the children took their meals in the makeshift structure and 25 % in the classrooms. Results on extent of nutrition on learning indicated that zero was being financed by the school and NGO, a quarter by parents and NGO, a half by parents and a quarter by the school. Also, the figure indicated that 25% of the school feeding program was financed by the school, parents 50 %, parents and NGO 25 % and school and NGO zero percent. The study concluded that when food is balanced, served in appropriate quantity and within the recommended intervals or frequency children are able to grow, develop well and attain their potential. The study thus recommended that parents should be sensitized on the importance of feeding programs so that they would pay for the meals especially for those in schools that do not provide feeding program.
Page(s): 100-104 Date of Publication: 28 May 2021
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This review paper presented on the basis of extensive literature survey updated the importance of plant essential oils in controlling many diseases, particularly coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease outbreak. Plant essential oils are valuable natural products, and used as a raw materials in aromatherapy, phytotherapy, perfumery, cosmetics, spices and nutrition. Aromatic plants produced a diversity of chemical constituents with the potential to inhibit viral replication. Essential oils have several biological properties such as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, wound-healing and anti-cancer effects in in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, essential oils have been analyzed and described as good antiviral agents against respiratory tract viral infections, hence are excellent prospective candidate against coronavirus. Thus, essential oils and their constituents can hopefully be considered in near future for more clinical assessment and possible applications in controlling the coronavirus pandemic. However, some of the plant essential oils are very toxic and poisonous and therefore, oral consumption should be avoided. Further detailed clinical trial experiments should be conducted for the scientific validation.
Page(s): 105-118 Date of Publication: 28 May 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8407Download PDF
The purposes of this study were 1) to investigate usage of English communicative skills in the workplace context, and 2) to study additional suggestions from respondents. The research samples were 350 staff working in different fields and organizations in Bangkok derived through Simple Random Sampling technique. The instruments used for collecting the data were the rating-scale and open-ended questionnaire. Frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and content analysis were used for data analysis. The research findings presented that usage of English communicative skills in the workplace context was at the highest level. The highest usage communicative skill was Listening skills and the lowest one was Reading skills. The additional suggestions from the respondents highly concerned on a training for making or receiving business phone call, interpreting and translating documents in English, English workshop or seminar, and socializing formally with business partners.
Page(s): 119-122 Date of Publication: 28 May 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8408Download PDF
The paper examined constraints to implementation of educational planning and its implications for the management of educational institutions in Kogi state, Nigeria. Two research questions and two research hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey design. 794 staff comprised of principals and other staffers from various state educational agencies served as the population of the study. 318 (40%) staffers were purposefully sampled for the study. Educational Agencies Implementation Predictor (EAIP) served as instrument for data collection. The research questions were analyzed with the aid of mean and standard deviation while the null hypotheses were analyzed with t- test statistic. From the analysis of data collected, mean and standard deviation for RQ1 shows 3.34 and 0.72 for principals while 3.30 and 0.94 for other educational agencies. These show the existence of significant relationship in their opinions. RQ2 shows 3.36 and 0.68 for principals while 3.19 and 1.13 for other educational agencies showing the existence of significant relationship in their opinions. It was revealed by hypothesis 1 that the t-cal values of 3.32 yielded 0.0001 at 0.05 level of significance indicating that significant relationship existed between the opinions of principals and other educational agencies on factors responsible for non implementation of educational plans. (2) The t-cal values of 3.04 yielded 0.0004 at 0.05 level of significance indicating that significant relationship existed between the opinions of principals and other educational agencies on the strategies to be taken in actualization of educational plans in Kogi east education zone, Nigeria. It was concluded that funding, political, statistical, implementation factors and the use mediocre in education planning are factors responsible for non implementation of educational plans in Kogi East Education Zone. While provision of adequate funds, implements stable administration, timing implementation of educational policies amongst others are recommended as measures to be taken for the actualization of educational plans in Kogi East Education Zone.
Page(s): 123-130 Date of Publication: 02 June 2021
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In this study, we examined the effect of celebrity endorsement on customer patronage in consumer goods manufacturing industry in Rivers State Nigeria using cross-sectional regression approach. The study also considered the moderating role of brand image in the relationship between celebrity endorsement and customer patronage. Celebrity endorsement were measured using three dimensions; namely,celebrity fit, celebrity credibility and celebrity expertise. On the other hand, customer patronage was measured in terms of brand choice, repeat purchase and customer referral. All variables were measured using the Likert scale with five ordered options from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Seventy-Six (76) final year marketing students from the three universities (University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State University and Ignatius Ajuru University of Education) in Rivers state constitute the sample. The students were randomly selected, and the response rate is 86%. The results show evidence that the three dimensions of celebrity endorsement; celebrity fit, celebrity credibility and celebrity, all have positive relationship with customer patronage. However, while the effect of celebrity fit and celebrity credibility both are highly statistically significant, the effect of celebrity expertise is significant only at 10% level. Also, the joint effects of celebrity fit, celebrity credibility and celebrity expertise is highly significant and explain approximately 82% of the variance of customer patronage. The results also show evidence of a highly significant positive effect of brand image on customer patronage both directly and through its interaction with celebrity endorsement. Therefore, we conclude that brand image enhances the relationship between celebrity endorsement and customer patronage in the consumer goods industry in Rivers State.Based on these findings, we recommend that consumer goods companies in Rivers State should advertise their products using only well-known celebrities that are credible, trustworthy, knowledgeable and whose physical appearances match with the products that are being promoted.
Page(s): 131-139 Date of Publication: 02 June 2021
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This study aimed at the appraisal of consumers’ restaurant food quality in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State with a view to unraveling the reasons behind poor quality and standard of service in the study area through the various opinions of respondents and recommending sustainable strategies to improve the standard. Random social survey and quasi experimental research design were adopted and the opinion on quality and standard of foods from 400 adult respondents were sampled through well-structured questionnaire and oral interviews. Statistical application of simple percentages proved that there is a significant level of poor health standard occasioned by poor food handling practices by the operators of restaurants. It concluded that unhygienic practices such as the use of unsafe water; unhealthy food exposure and underage service personnel predispose restaurants food to contamination. Recommendations include registration of all public food outlets with government authorities; regular inspection and enforcement of food regulations so as to ensure that all restaurants operate at a healthy environment with portable water supply and proper waste disposal system; Sensitization and public enlightenment campaign by relevant government bodies to leave the public with healthy choices; and education and training of restaurant operators on good hygiene practices.
Page(s): 140-147 Date of Publication: 02 June 2021
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Soil contamination with spent engine oil (a petroleum-based product) is a growing concern in many countries, especially in Nigeria. Phytoremediation of soils using a non-edible plant able to grow on tropical soils such as Jatropha curcas offers an eco-friendly and cost-effective method of remediating contaminated soils. This study focuses on the Phytoremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in soils contaminated with 0.25, 0.5 and 0.75% (w/w) Spent Engine Oil using Jatropha curcasfor a period of 80 days. The physiochemical parameters of the soil samples were analyzed. Thereafter the seeds were planted and grown in 2kg of contaminated soils amended with poultry droppings under field conditions including the control samples. The hydrocarbon loss in soils were periodically assessed at 20 days interval for a duration of 80 days. Results showed that the physiochemical parameters of soil samples were significantly impacted due to contamination with Spent Engine Oil. Furthermore, the percentage degradation of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) was higher (52%)insoil samples amended withpoultry droppings compared to the non-amended soils (45%). The Translocation factor (TF) of Jatropha curcas was greater than one. This suggests that Jatropha curcas is suitable for the Phytoremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbons in soils contaminated with Spent Engine Oil at 0.25,0.5 and 0.75% contamination levels and organic amendments enhanced the phytoremediation potential of Jatropha curcas.
Page(s): 148-153 Date of Publication: 02 June 2021
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The aim of this paper is to conduct a general review of contemporary literature about communication difficulties affecting learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It further reviews the recommended research based intervention strategies on the same. To achieve this, articles and research findings published in international peer reviewed journals were objectively scanned through. The target beneficiaries of this study are parents of learners with ASD, educators, speech therapists related service providers and other relevant stake holders. Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder exhibit a series of communication challenges. Although not every child with ASD has a language problem, their ability to communicate varies across the spectrum. It is dictated by severity, cognitive ability and social development of the individual. Majority of individuals have challenges in both receptive and expressive language. Further, almost all learners with ASD have difficulties understanding body language. Failure to understand context, abstract and figurative language is also a common barrier to communication in individuals with ASD. Majority individuals with ASD also struggle with meaning and rhythm of words. Many concentrate on the key word and not the entire statement during conversations. Other communication challenges include echolalia, lack of reciprocity and turn taking difficulties. To address the above challenges, researchers have come up with evidence based intervention strategies. They include AAC, manual signing, pantomime intervention, eye gaze intervention, picture exchange communication and facilitated communication. Interventions fall into two categories. the ones speech therapist use and those they train family and caregivers to use. No one intervention technique works perfectly across board. Speech Therapists must therefore understand the needs and behavior of the individual child before using or recommending a strategy. This will reduce possibility of system abandonment. Some interventions are hi-tech while others are low tech, cheap to make and easy to use. For positive results, family members and peers need to be incorporated in the interventions.
Page(s): 154-163 Date of Publication: 02 June 2021
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The study is designed to document the Practical Approach to implement koha data backup through cloud computing at Benue State University. The study is guided by three objectives. The research is anchored on the experience of staff of Benue State University Library. This research made use of Linux cronjob command to schedule an automatic process that runs every 30 minutes to take koha data backup to a dropbox account that was created and synchronized with the koha server system. The focus of this research is to secure the koha database through cloud computing and render it less prone to data loss. Also, to enable librarians have a better knowledge of koha databackup, and implement cloud backup themselves without consulting a paid vendor. Screenshots of practical measures used during the data backup and retrieval are shown below from figure 1-13. Figure 1-8 shows the implementation of koha cloud backup and 9-13 shows retrieving koha database from cloud backup. In conclusion, this research work has brought out a simple approach to ensure the security of the koha database by using cloud computing to backup the koha database and retrieve the same through any computer connected to the internet..
Page(s): 164-169 Date of Publication: 02 June 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8409Download PDF
The effect of waste foundry sand (WFS) as a partial substitute for fine aggregates (natural sand) on concrete mixtures was investigated using an experimental program. The 28-day compressive strength of control concrete mixtures (M25) was engineered to be 31.60 MPa, respectively. The fine aggregate (natural sand) was then replaced with a replacement ratio (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%) of WFS by weight. The focus of this study is to prevent sandpits from being dug up, as a result of the construction industry’s rapid production of a variety of fine aggregates. Compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, carbonation depth, water absorption, were used to investigate the performance of concrete for up to 56 days. In this analysis, 105 concrete specimens were cast. The specimens were prepared for concrete mixes of M25 grade, with a water-to-cement ratio of 0.50. This research looked at the impact of waste foundry sand on various properties of concrete. The properties of fresh and hardened concrete were determined by testing specimens of concrete mixes.Mechnaical properties and durablity Properties of M25 grade concrete increased with the up to 15% replacement ratio, however there is a small declination found at above 15% replacement ratio.
Page(s): 170-176 Date of Publication: 02 June 2021
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A time series modeling approach (Box-Jenkins’ ARIMA model) has been used in this study to forecast theft criminal offence in Kwara state. This study is centered on Time Series Analysis of Data on theft criminal Offences in Kwara State from 2006– 2015 which is restricted to only theft criminal offences in the state. The best model is the model with the least AIC Value which is SARIMA (0,1,1)(2,0,0)[12] having its AIC Value to be 898.98. The ACF of Residual showed that nearly all the spikes are within the line of boundary and the Ljung-Box statistics showed that all p-value points are above 0.05 thereby showing the accuracy of the model is good to forecast. The histogram showed that residual for the forecast which reveal that the error term for the forecast satisfies the assumption of normality, i.e. residual of the forecast is normally distributed. It was concluded that there is no residual autocorrelation i.e. there is evidence of non-zero autocorrelations in the forecast errors at lags 1 to 21. It recommend that Government is therefore advised to aside Security operatives engage Landlords, Household heads, market women, communities/street leaders and elders as an extended mediums of getting security information.
Page(s): 177-182 Date of Publication: 03 June 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8410Download PDF
This study assessed the land use/land cover patterns in Stubbs Creek, Akwa Ibom, Nigeria from 1986 to 2019. The study used Landsat imageries of 1986, 2000 and 2019 to determine the spatial extent, trend and percentage of changes of different land use/land cover in the study area. Supervised classification using maximum likelihood algorithm was used to classify the imageries into different major land use/land cover in Arc GIS 10.6. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that between 1986 and 2019, water bodies, flood plain/riparian/mangrove and thick vegetation land use types reduced by 43.87%, 70.60%, and 93.19% respectively. On the other hand, built-up area and Nypafructicans/Sparse Vegetation increased by 1425.03%, and 1855.25% respectively. The study concluded that majority of Stubbs Creek is presently dominated by Nypafructicans and human activities. It is therefore recommended that the increase in built up area representing urban growth has enormous implication on the ecosystem balance of the study area; thus there is therefore the need to enact laws against forest encroachment and expansion so as to protect the ecosystem; and there is need for periodical monitoring of the vegetation status in the Stubbs Creek, Akwa Ibom State for sustainable forest resource management and biodiversity in the entire study area to mitigate the associated risk of global climate change.
Page(s): 183-188 Date of Publication: 03 June 2021
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Objectives: To study the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis infection as well as its coinfectivity with Syphilis among HIV-seropositive women(test group) and sero-negative women (control group) of child-bearing age in Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria. Study Design: A total of 100 tests and 100 control groups attending antenatal and routine medical services were used in the study Informed consents were obtained from the participants attending antenatal and routine medical care in Bishop Shanahan Hospital, All Saints Medical Centre, Primary health Centre, Nsukka, Adonai Medical Laboratory and Nsukka District Hospital. Methods: Questionnaire was used in the first phase to obtain demographic information of the sample population. Two ml of the participants’ plasma samples were used in the phase two of the study. HIV antibodies were detected using the Determine (Alere, Japan) and the Gold (Trinity, Ireland). C. trachomatis antibodies were detected using CT IgG EIA kit (Xema, Russia) while syphilitic antibodies were detected using Syphilis Ultra Rapid Test Strip Package Insert, (Global USA). Statistical significance was determined using SPSS 16.0. Those at risk were established using attributable and relative risks. Results: A preponderance of HIV infection among individuals aged 26-40 years (63%). Single infection with C. trachomatis and Syphilis were 6% and 2% respectively for test group, and 11% and 8% respectively for control group. A high prevalence of the dual infection was observed in the test group with no statistical significance (α = 0.05). Age distribution of both infections indicated preponderance among 16-35 years age bracket. Conclusion: HIV infection with low CD4+ count and high viral load is a strong risk factor for the infections in the study area.
Page(s): 189-194 Date of Publication: 04 June 2021
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This work investigated the potential use of activated carbon produced from saccharum officinarum waste as an adsorbent for the removal of dye stuff from aqueous solution. The activated carbon was impregnated using Orth-phosphoric acid for chemical activation. Some physicochemical parameters of the activated carbon studied include, pH, bulk density, ash and moisture content. Adsorption experiments were conducted at varying contact times, initial dye concentration and temperature. Adsorption equilibrium was achieved in less than 40 minutes of contact time. Adsorption of dyes increased with increasing temperature. Thermodynamic characteristics which include free energy, enthalpy and entropy values were assessed using van’t Hoff equation. Negative free energy and positive enthalpy values indicate the feasibility as well as endothermic nature of the adsorption event. Positive entropy suggests increased disorderliness at the solid/solution interface during adsorption process. The kinetic study shows that pseudo-second-order model is best fit for the experimental data obtained
Page(s): 195-200 Date of Publication: 05 June 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8411Download PDF
This study investigated the perceived impacts of foreign education intervention programmes on the performance of Basic Science and Technology teachers in the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was employed for the study and a sample of eighty-nine teachers were randomly selected out of two hundred and sixty-two basic science and technology teachers from one hundred and sixty-one junior secondary schools in FCT, Nigeria. Data was collected personally in FCT Junior Secondary schools through the use of classroom Observation-checklist. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings from the study revealed that; Basic Science Teachers’ performance was positively impacted through regular in-service training, workshops, and seminars organized by foreign organizations in Nigeria. On the basis of findings and conclusion, the study recommended that, FCT should partner with other international organizations to create opportunities for all teachers to attend teacher training programmes since their performance is enhanced through foreign education intervention training.
Page(s): 201-204 Date of Publication: 05 April 2021
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Diesel engines are generally heavy duty vehicles used in transportation and agricultural sectors. Diesel engines meet their energy requirement from natural petroleum products. The problems associated with diesel fuels are their increasing price, atmospheric pollution and lack of sufficient availability in next few years. The vegetable oils stands as alternate fuels for natural fuels as physical and combustion properties are close to the diesel fuel. However the viscosity of the vegetable oils is higher than diesel fuel. In the present investigation waste sunflower oil is taken as alternate fuel. The high viscosity of sun flower oil is decreased by blending with diesel in various proportions and heated prior to the combustion in the cylinder. The fuel blends were heated by means of the cooling water of the engine. The blends of the varying proportions of sunflower oil and diesel were prepared, analysed and compared with diesel fuel. The effect of temperature on the viscosity of fuel blends was also studied. The performance of the engine using fuel blends were evaluated in a single cylinder C I engine and compared with the performance obtained with the pure diesel. The experiments were performed on the four stroke engine at various loads by maintaining constant speed. The fuel blends supplied to the engine are S 10 (10% of sunflower oil and 90% of diesel), S 25, S 50.It is observed that the performance of the engine is almost same up to S 25 fuel blend without much preheating, compared to pure diesel engine. The maximum brake thermal efficiency obtained is 30.3% for S 25 blend while it is 32.6% for pure diesel. The brake specific fuel consumption and maximum exhaust temperature obtained were 0.262 kg/kWh and 292 C respectively for S 25 fuel blend, while they are 0.248 kg/kWh and 242 C for pure diesel.
Page(s): 205-209 Date of Publication: 05 June 2021
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This study was carried out to investigate the effect of video-taped instruction and gender on Senior Secondary Students’ performance in practical physics. The design for the study is quasi-experimental, of the type, pretest-posttest control group design. The population of the study comprised of all SS3 physics students in Port Harcourt Local Government Area of Rivers State. One hundred and three (103) students in 2 co-educational schools made up the sample size. Two groups namely the experimental group and control group were used for the study. The experimental group was taught practical physics using video-taped instruction (VTI) while the control group was taught practical physics using the conventional (real handling of apparatus) teaching method (CM). Two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The instrument used for the study was Physics Practical Skills Rating Scale (PPSRS). The data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while t-test and two-way analysis of variance (2 x 2 – ANOVA) were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that use of video-taped instruction does not have any significant effect on gender. The following recommendations, among others were also made : that video-taped instruction as a method of teaching should be included in the physics curriculum because it raised students’ interest thereby improving performance irrespective of gender, use of ICT facilities and modern instructional materials should be encouraged in our schools, use of video taped instruction by teachers and students in the classrooms should be encouraged, teachers should be trained and retrained through in service programmes, workshops, conferences and seminars to keep them abreast with modern innovative teaching strategies. Implication of this study is that if VTI is fully implemented in our physics classes which improves performance irrespective of gender, there will be adequate manpower to provide for functional living in the society.
Page(s): 210-215 Date of Publication: 05 June 2021
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This study was carried out to investigate community involvement in the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in rural areas particularly in selected secondary schools of Chibombo district of Zambia. The objectives of the study included: to determine the major community stakeholders involved in the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in selected secondary schools in Chibombo district; to examine how head teachers promote community participation in Comprehensive Sexuality Education in selected schools in Chibombo district; to establish the challenges that the rural secondary schools face in involving the community in the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in selected secondary schools in Chibombo district and to determine measures which can be put in place to enhance community involvement in the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in rural secondary schools. The research design which was used was Case Study in which qualitative data was collected. Data was collected from 92 respondents distributed as follows: fifty (50) pupils; seven (7) head teachers; seven (7) heads of department; fifteen (15) teachers; three (3) headmen; six (6) parents and four (4) church leaders. Data was collected using questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions. The findings of the study showed that teachers, health personnel, parents, chiefs, headmen, church leaders, law officers, and civic leaders were used in the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education. The school managers created opportunities for community involvement in the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education through the integration of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in other programmes in the school such as guidance and counselling, Annual General Meetings (AGMs), infrastructural development, awards day, re-entry policy, controlling of bad behaviour and motivational talks. Traditions, low educational levels and literacy levels, negative attitude to educational programmes, long distance to school, irregular communication between the school and community, the use of English in secondary schools, women willing to be involved but not fully committed, lack of funds from the government and poverty among the members of the community were the major challenges to community involvement in Comprehensive Sexuality Education. The measures to be put in place to enhance Comprehensive Sexuality Education in rural secondary schools included sensitisation meetings, workshops, opening programmes which were specifically for Comprehensive Sexuality Education and include the community. Finally, based on the findings, the following recommendations have been made: The Ministry of General Education must make Comprehensive Sexuality Education a standalone subject and must be examinable. There is need to train all in-service teachers in Comprehensive Sexuality Education through workshops. Deliberate Comprehensive Sexuality Education programmes and activities must be put in place to allow the community to be involved in the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in rural secondary schools. The community must be allowed to use familiar language and not just English when they are involved in the implementation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education in rural secondary schools.
Page(s): 216-228 Date of Publication: 08 June 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8412Download PDF
This research is in the form of the development of learning craft art online in the collaboration of kamon ornaments and North Sumatra carvings on sofa cushions and tablecloths products. The methodology used in this research is descriptive quantitative with a Likert scale. The purpose of this research is to develop learning craft art online using a learning management system (LSM). The results of the evaluation of learning craft art online are as follows; media google classroom 86%; google media meet 87%; art and craft material 75%; materials designing craft products in general 76%; sequin sofa craft concept on flowchart 76%; sofa sequin craft concept on paper 77%; sofa craft sketches cushions and tablecloths 80%; design motifs and sofa products cushions and tablecloths 79%; sofa craft products cushions and tablecloths 81%; and the presentation of sofa craft products cushions and tablecloths 79%.
Page(s): 229-232 Date of Publication: 08 June 2021
DOI : 10.51244/IJRSI.2021.8413Download PDF