176 research outputs found
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Awareness and Digitization of School Library Resources in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Get PDFThis study investigates the awareness and digitization of school libraries in Akwa Ibom State. The main objective of the study was to examine the extent of awareness of librarians on digitization of school library resources in private secondary schools and the software used in digitization and to further examine if the school librarians have the necessary skills for digitization of the library resources in Akwa Ibom State. Out of about 150 private secondary schools in the state, 25 were randomly sampled for the study. This study adopts cognitive flexibility theory. The design for the study was descriptive survey. The data were analysed using percentages and charts. The result of the findings indicated that librarians in Akwa Ibom State school libraries are awareof the digitization technology; but the extent of planning for digitization is low in their libraries. It was noticed that there are inadequate facilities in the libraries for digitization. The study further revealed that the school librarians do not have the skills for the implementation of digitization in the school libraries. Among the recommendations made was that school librarians should be trained and retrained for information skills acquisitio
Life on Edge: Environmental Disordering and the Decline of Some Avian Species in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Get PDFBirds are conspicuous and important components of the Nigerian biodiversity assemblage, with about 850 species recorded. Some of these species are very common and numerous, while others are naturally rare. However, environmental disorders through human impacts have produced more species in the rare category. In Akwa Ibom State, the existence of several species such as Necrosyrtes monachus, Malimbus scutatus, Tockus fasciatus, Scopus umbretta, Psittacus erithacus and some species of woodpeckers (Dendropicos and Campethera species), is on edge. The forcing factors in this decline include scarcity of preferred substrates for nest building, competitive exclusion, likelihood of toxic effects, local and international trades in some species, poaching of eggs for ritual purpose, and outright killings for meat. Birds are useful as indicators of environmental change and many people derive aesthetic satisfaction by watching them in-situ in aerial displays. The success of some terrestrial mammals depends on the efforts of birds in creating cavities in living trees or snags, which they share with the mammals. The extinction of such birds would certainly lead to collateral extinctions of some bird-dependent mammals
Characterization of hydrocarbon reservoir by pore fluid and lithology using elastic parameters in an x field, Niger Delta, Nigeria
Get PDFQuantitative rock physics analysis was carried out to determine the lithology and pore fluid of a reservoir in the Niger Delta. Density, compressional wave velocity and shear wave velocity logs were used as input to calculate elastic parameters such as velocity ratio, Poisson’s ratio, and Bulk Modulus, after estimating the hydrocarbon reservoir in the X field. The calculated velocity ratio log was used to differentiate between sand, sandstone and shale. Poisson’s ratio and velocity ratio were used delineate pore fluid content; gas sand, oil sand and sandstone formation from cross plot analysis. The reservoir in the field lies ranges from 9050 - 9426.5ft, (2760.25 – 2874.93m), this confirm what is obtained in the Niger Delta Basin. The Net Pay zones show an economical viable reservoir, it Net pay depth is 39 – 73.5ft. The Porosity and Permeability of the reservoirs suggested a productivity hydrocarbon reservoir. The reservoir lies between Gas sands, Oil sands and Brine sands, reservoir 2 and reservoir 3 are oil sand reservoirs while reservoir 1 lies between an oil sand and a brine sand
Conservation priorities and ecotourism potentials of the avifauna of Itu wetlands, Nigeria
Get PDFField studies were carried out monthly from November, 2016 to October, 2017 to ascertain the species list of avians in Itu wetlands. The prospects for conservation priority attention and potentials to attract and sustain local and international ecotourism were assessed. A total of 84 bird species belonging to 33 families were recorded. Two families, Accipitridae and Ardeidae had 8 species each, while 13 families had one species each. Birds recorded included species listed as endangered in the Endangered Species Act 11 of 1985 and many other species requiring special attention because of their critical habitat requirements (many waterfowls). Both local (e.g. Gallinules, Carmine bee-eaters) and palaearctic (e.g. European Barn swallow, Hirundo rustica) migrants utilized the wetland as a migratory destination. In view of the important and rich avifaunal assemblage, designating the site as a protected area will further complement efforts to protect other endangered species in the wetland such as the West African manatee, Trichechus senegalensis. Together with the scenic beauty of the undulating hills and colonial era relics, it has the potential to become a favourite site for birdwatching ecotourism, biodiversity and natural heritage conservatio
Domestic abuse and antisocial behaviour among students in Aba Education Zone
Get PDFAims: This study sought to determine how variables of domestic abuse (physical maltreatment, domestic enslavement, and verbal abuse of children by parents/guardians) contribute to the prevalence of antisocial behaviour among secondary school students in Aba Education Zone of Abia State, Nigeria. Study Design: The study adopted the ex-post facto survey design. Population of Study: The Population of the study comprised all the 5, 605 senior secondary school students in Aba education Zone during the period of this study. Methodology: The multi-stage random sampling procedure was used to select 1400 adolescents, which is 25% of the population, for the study. The instrument used in data collection was the researcher–made Domestic Abuse and Antisocial Behaviour Questionnaire. The reliability of the instrument was .86 Cronbach’s Alpha. Independent t-test was used to analyse data for hypotheses testing. The independent variables were used as the grouping variable and the grouping was done based on the students’ scores on each variable. Results: The result of independent samples t-test conducted to test the research hypotheses showed that: (1) There was a significant influence of parents’ physical maltreatment of children on antisocial behaviour (M1=36.89, M2=29.20; SD1=9.491, SD2=8.984); conditions: t(1398)=7.825, P=0.000, α =.05. (2) There was a significant influence of domestic enslavement of children on antisocial behaviour (M1=35.81, M2=29.12; SD1=8.954, SD2=9.024); conditions: t(1398)=7.804, P =0.000, α =.05. (3) There was a significant influence of verbal abuse of children on antisocial behaviour (M1=38.93, M2=27.04; SD1=8.762, SD2=7.452); conditions: t(1398)= 23.88, P =0.000, α =.05. Conclusion: Students who were physically maltreated at home were more prone to manifesting antisocial behaviour. Domestic enslavement induces negative emotions with antisocial implications. Parental verbal abuse begets in the children the tendency to use abusive words on peers at school.
Keywords: Peer group; peer victimization; educational psychology; school counsellin
Assessment of Sustainable Livelihood Assets of Farming Households in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria
Get PDFAbstract
There is surfeit of evidence on increase poverty and low agricultural productivity among majority of rural dwellers in Nigeria. Researches have established an inverse linked between rural poverty and sustainable households’ asset based. Agricultural production, being the major livelihood source for majority of rural dwellers needs considerable asset or capital for it to be considered as sustainable. Based on this assertion, the study assesses the sustainable livelihood assets of farming households in Abak Local Government area of Akwa Ibom
state in Southern region of Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select 110 farming household heads in the study area. Structured questionnaires were used to collect cross sectional data from respondents. Descriptive tools were used to analyse data collected. The socioeconomic features of respondents revealed a sample population that is fast ageing, dominated by married male and moderately educated. Result also showed that, respondents had considerable piles of physical, social and natural assets to assist in livelihood sustenance. However, the index of capacity structure of sustainable livelihood assets revealed a huge deficiency in financial and human assets among farming households in the region. Hence, it is recommended that, farming households should increase their human assets by encouraging education of the younger household members.
Also, efforts should be made to improve social capital formation among farming households and communities.
Keywords: Akwa Ibom State, farming household, livelihood asset, poverty, sustainabilit
Derived Rock Attributes Analysis for Enhanced Reservoir Fluid and Lithology Discrimination
Get PDFElastic properties of rocks were derived from well logs and 3D post-stack seismic from Onshore Niger Delta through rock physics modelling and LamdaMuRho (LMR) seismic inversion. These rock properties were analyzed to map hydrocarbon bearing sands as well as the different fluid types trapped in them. P-impedance, S-impedance, Vp/Vs ratio, porosity, LamdaRho (λρ) and MuRho (µρ) were derived from well logs using appropriate relations. These rock parameters were analyzed in cross-plots space and used to determine which of them constitutes better indicators of pore fluids and lithology. Inversion of the post-stack seismic data was also carried out to generate Acoustic Impedance, Lamda-Rho and Mu-Rho volumes. Data slices of the inverted volumes were then generated to further study the characteristics of the identified hydrocarbon bearing intervals. Results showed that the cross-plot of Lambda-Rho versus Mu-Rho from all the wells yielded best discrimination between fluids and lithology and the values of Acoustic Impedance (1.665 x 104–2.742x104((ft/s)*(g/cc)), MuRho (4.31 – 17.17(ft/s*g/cc)2) and LamdaRho (14.9 – 35.5(ft/s*g/cc)2 ) from data slices of the inverted seismic volumes validated the results. The results also showed that medium to high values of MuRho (>5.0(ft/s*g/cc)2) were indicative of clean sands while lower values of LambdaRho(< 23.5(ft/s*g/cc)2) correlated well with areas containing hydrocarbons. Keywords: Acoustic impedance, LamdaMuRho, seismic inversion, Reservoir fluid, cross-plots
Unsupervised Learning Framework for Customer Requisition and Behavioral Pattern Classification
Get PDFMaintaining healthy organization-customers relationship has positive influence on customers’ behavioral tendencies as regards preference to products and services, buying behavior, loyalty, satisfaction, and so on. To achieve this, an in-depth analysis of customers’ characteristics and purchasing behavioral trend is required. This paper proposes a hybrid unsupervised learning framework consisting of k-means algorithm and self-organizing maps (SOMs) for customer segmentation and behavior analysis. K-means algorithm was used to partition the entire input space of customers’ transaction dataset into 3 and 4 disjoint segments based on customers’ frequency (F) and monetary value (MV). SOM provided visualization of the underlying clusters and discovered customers’ relationships in the dataset. Interaction of F and MV clusters resulted in 12 sub-clusters. An in-depth analysis of each sub-cluster was also performed and appropriate customer relationship management (CRM) strategies established for each sub-cluster. Discovered knowledge will guide effective allocation of resources to each customer cluster and other organizational decision support functions much required by CRM systems.
Keywords: customer relationship, data mining, k-means, pattern recognition, self organizing ma
Economic implication of foreign reserves management on the performance of the Nigerian economy, 1995 to 2013
Get PDFThe focus of this study has been on the economic implications of foreign reserves management on the performance of the Nigerian economy. Despite declaration of huge external reserves, the reserves had depleted drastically and economic indicators have not significantly improved, as they have always been highly fluctuating with marginal growth levels. This study aimed to establish relationships among economic performance indicators (capacity utilization rate, manufacturing output, growth rate of gross domestic product) and foreign reserves management variables (foreign reserves position, exchange rate, imports, exports). Relevant studies have been reviewed and the methodology implied desk and empirical research. The ordinary least square multiple regression model was used to analyze the data and it helped discover inverse relationships that exist among exchange rate, imports, exports and capacity utilization rate in Nigeria. The analysis found that exchange rate exerts significant impact on manufacturing output in Nigeria, and that there is an inverse relationship among manufacturing output, foreign reserve position, imports and exports. Moreover, positive relationships exist between foreign reserve position and both capacity utilization rate and growth rate of gross domestic product. Discoveries showed that if greater parts of Nigeria’s foreign reserves were channeled to the
productive sectors of its economy, capacities of productive machines would be fully utilized, domestic industries would perform well, real value of manufacturing output would increase, the domestic market would have significant positive improvements, and the growth rate of gross domestic product would be improved. On these grounds, proposed recommendations encompassed that the Nigerian government should redirect foreign exchange earnings and reserves in the productive sectors of the economy. Also, they should encourage more exports and discourage or reduce to minimum imports by reviving ailing domestic industries. The exchange rate should
be properly controlled and managed by monetary authorities to aid local producers in acquiring productive facilities at cheaper rates and enhance domestic production.
Keywords: Economic Implications, Foreign Reserves, Foreign Reserves Management, Nigerian Economy, Gross Domestic Product, Capacity Utilization Rate, Manufacturing Outpu
Geoelectric and hydroelectric parameters of aquifers in southern parts of Akwa Ibom state.
Get PDFA Vertical Electrical resistivity Sounding (VES) survey was carried out, to study the geoelectric and hydroelectric parameters of aquifer in some locations in Part of Akwa Ibom State. A total of six (6) geoelectric soundings were acquired. The lithology of the aquifer layer can be said to compose of fine to gravelly sand, with sand and clay intercalation. The low resistivity values across most of the geoelectric layers can be attributed to conductive argillaceous geomaterials. Underlying aquiferous layer is likely unprotected from the surface contamination flow due to the fact that the protective capacity of most part of the study area is good as shown by this study. Contour maps generated using the results from the study shows bulk aquifer resistivity and
water resistivity values, the formation factor calculated ranges from 2.3-50.45. Porosity ranges from 8.68-48.27% and hydraulic conductivity ranges from 0.671 m/day2 from estimates. Porosity values obtained confirms that aquifer in the study area consist mainly of sandstone. It is also revealed that, areas with low resistivity have high porosity and the storativity as observed in the
extreme south and central parts of the study area