Psychological Depression Factor and Productivity of Indonesia Construction Workers in Malaysia

Several past research studies which are community based and some important care populations declared that depression has some consequences which are job loss, reduction of job performance and productivity, loss of life and possessions. Construction work is one out of the many job described as 3D, that's dangerous, dirty and demeaning. Malaysian construction jobs are dominated by migrant workers, which includes Indonesian migrants as well. The main aim of this study is to determine the correlates and the prevalence of depression among Indonesia migrant construction workers in Penang, Malaysia and their influence on their productivity citing construction sites in Penang state. Their level of depression was assessed using BDI (Beck depression Inventory) measurement tool. The study was conducted using a survey with semistructured questionnaire distributed to 250 numbers of Indonesian construction workers from about 20 different construction sites in Penang, Malaysia. Using SPSS description, frequency, regression and correlation analysis, the result shows that 43% of the construction workers are having mild depression, those with moderate depression are 36% and those with severe depression are 18%. This has an adverse effect on their productivity on site and their punctuality at work(Absenteeism). There is a strong statistical significance between their depression level and their productivity at work. This result will help all Site/Construction managers to be aware of construction workers’ health and ability, hence less dangerous, dirty and demeaning task. It is suggested that more research can be conducted on their resilience and ability in the near future

Physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of kitoza, a traditional salted/dried/smoked meat product of Madagascar

Kitoza samples collected from producers in Madagascar were analyzed for their physicochemical and microbial properties. Lactic acid bacteria and coagulase‐negative staphylococci were the two codominant populations with average counts of 6–7 log cfu/g. Good hygienic practices were sometimes lacking but samples were not contaminated with Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, and Bacillus cereus and only once with Listeria monocytogenes. Staphylococcus aureus was found occasionally with higher counts in salted/dried products than in salted/smoked products. Moisture, protein, fat, and salt contents varied considerably and were on average 41.5, 43.5, 14.3, and 3.3 g/100 g, respectively, and water activity was 0.893 on average. Smoked kitoza showed higher moisture content compared to dried kitoza. Most of the smoked kitoza had a water activity higher than 0.9 which is not in accordance with their storage at ambient temperatures. Benzo(a)pyrene content was above 2 µg/kg in 11 out of 30 smoked samples (17 ± 16.5 µg/kg on average)

Direct assay of monosodium glutamatein multi-sourced bouillon cubes by first derivative potentiometric titration

In this study, a simple, cheap and accurate analytical method was developed for the direct assay of monosodium glutamate (MSG). First derivative potentiometric assay was adopted in the determination of MSG content in ten brands of Bouillon cubes (coded P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, P7, P8, P9 and P10) sourced from different local markets.Formic acid extract of MSG was used for the determination. The result obtained for MSG standard using this method gave 99.40% which agrees with 99.94% also obtained for the non-extracted method. Results for all the coded samples show that sample P8 (75.14%) gave the highest value of MSG content while sample P6 (55.96%) gave the lowest value. Though, the World Health Organization (WHO) requirement for MSG consumption per day is 0.12g, the values obtained in this study cannot be related to daily consumption because the amounts of bouillon cubes and consequently the amount of MSG used by consumers differ from one individual to another. However, the result obtained for the estimation of MSG in bouillons cubes can be adoptedby regulatory agencies such as National Agency for Food, Drugs and Administration Control (NAFDAC) and International Standard Organization (ISO).Keywords: Derivative, Extract, Potentiometric, Bouillon, Consumer

Evaluation of the OSHA Local Emphasis Program (LEP) for Logging in West Virginia

This research aimed at an improved method for evaluating the West Virginia Occupational Safety and Health Administration\u27s Local Emphasis Program (WV OSHA LEP) for Logging in West Virginia. The LEP currently uses for assessment: loggers\u27 training, inspections at logging sites, number of fatalities and 75% of loggers\u27 participation to determine the program\u27s effectiveness annually. The research here proposes the use of a larger data capture to evaluate the impact of the LEP on loggers\u27 safety.;A heuristic method using the Iceberg model of safety was applied to assess loggers\u27 safety based on the desired safety outcome measures outlined in the OSHA directive 2012-11(CPL 04). In this context, loggers\u27 safety is understood and better assessed when fatalities and other safety related incidents or costs such as injuries, near misses, unsafe acts and conditions, days lost or transferred from job, healthcare costs and workers\u27 compensation claims are tracked and monitored. This new predictive model identifies that minor and non-fatal incidents play a role in predicting major incidents and fatalities thus allowing the use of more appropriate safety indicators to determine the success of the program.;A quantitative research method was used to accumulate and sort data relating to loggers\u27 training, operations, inspections, fatalities, violations and loss data in West Virginia. Based on ten years of records kept by WV OSHA, West Virginia Division of Forestry (WV DOF) and West Virginia Insurance Commission (WV IC), a bi-variate regression analysis was used to determine the best fit model that predicted an association between the program\u27s inputs (independent variables X: Training and Inspections) and any combination of expected or desired safety outcomes (dependent variables Y: fatality rates, violations and medical costs) with the aid of Microsoft Excel, Minitab and SAS computer programs.;The resulting statistics and fit charts revealed that, the model of association between the rates of planned inspections and rates of medical costs of logging injuries has the best fit with correlation \u27r\u27 = -0.88, R 2(adj) =78.9% and P value =0.044 indicating significance. Other good fit models of association with the rate of inspections were rates of violations, cost of violations and rates of unplanned inspections (due to complaints and accidents). Therefore, the research suggests that the rates of medical costs of logging injuries, serious and repeat violations, cost of violations and unplanned inspections be considered as better measures of severity and unsafe acts/conditions to track the success of the LEP during its evaluation.;Based on research findings, it was concluded that though the current evaluation method helps WV OSHA to meet the guidelines of the Federal OSHA strategic goal for LEPs, it does little to measure the impact of the program on the safety of workers in the West Virginia logging industry

A geochemical appraisal of some marble physiques in Ubo area and environs, southwestern Nigeria

Twenty (20) marble samples from Ubo and environs were analyzed both geochemically and statistically with the aim of determining their industrial applicability. The samples were subjected to AAS analysis. Findings revealed a fairly high - very high values of CaO (52.98wt% - 82.18wt %) and low values of MgO (1.64wt%–6.95wt %). Other major oxide such as SiO2, FeO/Fe2O3, Na2O, K2O, Al2O3 and MnO2 had values below 2wt%. The multivariate analysis employed revealed a high correlation between CaO/Fe2O3, MgO/Al2O3 and FeO/CaO which is an indication of their fairly similar valencies and ionic values. The high lime content is connected to the shallow marine environment during deposition prior to metamorphism. The marbles are classified as the high calcite group and their industrial use range from the production of Portland cement to their use for ceramics.Keywords: Marble, Chemical-composition, Metamorphism, Correlatio

Effective University Leadership as Predictor of Academic Excellence in Southern Nigerian Universities

The University is an educational system where high level manpower is trained for socio-economic and political growth of any nation. The leadership of a University plays invaluable roles in achieving academic excellence in dissemination and acquisition of universal knowledge, values; functional, technical and scientific skills and competencies critical to global growth and development. The study therefore investigated the relationship between effective University leadership and academic excellence in Southern Nigerian Universities. The population of the study was made up of all the Vice chancellors from the seventeen federal Universities in Southern Nigeria. A random sampling technique was used to select nine (09) Universities and their Vice chancellors representing 52% of the studied population. 135 academic staff were also randomly selected from the sampled Universities as respondents. Questionnaire was the main instrument used for data collection. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data collected for the study. The analysis revealed that Vice chancellors from Southern Nigerian Universities were moderately effective in their leadership roles but the level of academic excellence in Southern Nigerian Universities was generally low. A further analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between leadership effectiveness and academic excellence in Southern Nigerian Universities. It was therefore recommended among others that highly competent, effective and transformative University administrators should be selected for Vice chancellorship position in Southern Nigerian Universities. Federal Universities in Southern Nigeria should be resourceful in generating revenue to end the seemingly unending lamentation of poor funding

Optimization Study on Carbonization of Palm Kernel Shell Using Response Surface Method

The carbonization of Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) was carried out in a constant volume reactor and the optimization of the important factors (Temperature, Particle Size, and Residence time) that affect the quality of the biochar product was investigated using Response Surface Method (RSM-CCD). The characterization results before carbonization show that PKS is a potential biomass to be considered as an alternative for fossil fuel. Center Composite Design (CCD) was employed in the carbonization process to investigate the effect of process parameters on the quality of bio-char formed. The optimized conditions obtained for fixed carbon yield were temperature of 469.16oC, the particle size of mm, the residence time of 17.68 min, and these optimized conditions gave a fixed carbon of 79.65 % with a corresponding yield of 34.00 % while the temperature was observed to be the most influential factor. The optimized conditions were validated and the predicted results were in good agreement with the experimental results, as the relative error between the predicted and experimental values for the fixed carbon and corresponding percentage yield were -1.26 and 0.36 %, respectively. The study revealed the potential of PKS at different particle sizes considered, to be used as solid fuel

Optimization Study on Carbonization of Palm Kernel Shell Using Response Surface Method

The carbonization of Palm Kernel Shell (PKS) was carried out in a constant volume reactor and the optimization of the important factors (Temperature, Particle Size, and Residence time) that affect the quality of the biochar product was investigated using Response Surface Method (RSM-CCD). The characterization results before carbonization show that PKS is a potential biomass to be considered as an alternative for fossil fuel. Center Composite Design (CCD) was employed in the carbonization process to investigate the effect of process parameters on the quality of bio-char formed. The optimized conditions obtained for fixed carbon yield were temperature of 469.16oC, the particle size of mm, the residence time of 17.68 min, and these optimized conditions gave a fixed carbon of 79.65 % with a corresponding yield of 34.00 % while the temperature was observed to be the most influential factor. The optimized conditions were validated and the predicted results were in good agreement with the experimental results, as the relative error between the predicted and experimental values for the fixed carbon and corresponding percentage yield were -1.26 and 0.36 %, respectively. The study revealed the potential of PKS at different particle sizes considered, to be used as solid fuel