An Examination of Graduates of Estate Management Employers’ Skill Expectations and Real Estate Education in Nigeria

The current unemployment challenges facing Nigeria calls for urgent attention from the country’s educational planners and those in the helm of affair as there is the need by graduates from the country’s tertiary institutions to be more industry/workplace competent through the acquisition of the basic hard and soft skills which are what are often sought after by the employers as they are what are required for carrying out their assignments. This paper attempts to ascertain the basic hard and soft skills often sought after by employers in the Estate Management graduates by employers in Nigeria with a view to sensitising those responsible for drawing up the curricular of undergraduates in the country’s tertiary institutions and include such skills in their curriculum so as to enhance the employability of their graduates. The use of survey method was employed in the collection of data for the study while descriptive/inferential statistical methods were adopted for the analysis of data. The results of the analyses were presented in tables. The study revealed that while majority of graduates possess hard skill, they are however lacking in the area of soft skills acquisition. To inculcate these soft skills in the graduate programmes at the tertiary institutions in the country there is dire need for embedding the identified skills in the existing syllabus of the institutions as well as the development of soft skills based campus life among other recommendations

PARASITES OF THE CICHLID FISHES IN WATER RESERVOIR OF FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE, ABEOKUTA, NIGERIA

A survey of parasites of Tilapia species (Family; Cichlidae) was carried out at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Reservoir. A total of 150 specimens belonging to four genera and species were examined for parasites. Of the total number examined 16.0% were infected with various types of parasites. Parasites encountered during the study included flagellate protozoan, Ichtyobodonecatrix (96.0%), species of annelid, Piscicola sp.(1.6%), species of nematode, Cucullanus sp.(1.6%), and species of cestode, Caryophyllaeidessp (0.8%). This result showed low prevalence of infection as well as low parasites diversity. The prevalence of infection was highest in Oreochromis niloticus (29.0%) and followed in descending order by Hemichromis fasciatus (16.7%), Sarotherodon galilaeus (14.3%)and Tilapia zillii (10.5%). The skin (60.7%), gills (36.9%), stomach (1.6%) and intestine (0.8%) were the locations infected and the skin supported the highest burden. The result also revealed that there were no significant differences between the size/age (X2=0.44; p>0.05)and sex (X2=1.38; p>0.05) and the degree of parasitic infection in this group of fishes. The economic and public health implications of these results in relation to fish-man interactions were discussed. &nbsp

IMPACT OF BULLYING ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL SCIENCE STUDENTS IN NORTH CENTRAL, NIGERIA

Objective: This study investigates the impact of bullying on the academic performance of senior secondary school science students in North Central, Nigeria. It examines the differences in academic achievement between bullied and unbullied students and explores gender disparities in bullying experiences. Method: A descriptive survey design was employed, with a sample of 384 students and teachers selected from government co-educational senior secondary schools in Niger State and the Federal Capital Territory using Krejcie and Morgan’s table. A purposive sampling technique was utilized, and data were collected through validated questionnaires. Instrument reliability was assessed using the test-retest method and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.814). Data analysis was conducted using Mann-Whitney and T-tests via SPSS Version 21. Results: Findings revealed that unbullied students significantly outperformed bullied students academically. Males were identified as the predominant perpetrators, while females were the primary victims. The study also highlights effective anti-bullying strategies, including policy implementation, school climate improvement, teacher training, and student-led initiatives. Novelty: This study provides empirical evidence on the academic consequences of bullying within science education in Nigeria, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions. It contributes to the literature by proposing practical measures for school administrators and policymakers to mitigate bullying and support affected students

IMPACT OF BULLYING ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL SCIENCE STUDENTS IN NORTH CENTRAL, NIGERIA

Objective: This study investigates the impact of bullying on the academic performance of senior secondary school science students in North Central, Nigeria. It examines the differences in academic achievement between bullied and unbullied students and explores gender disparities in bullying experiences. Method: A descriptive survey design was employed, with a sample of 384 students and teachers selected from government co-educational senior secondary schools in Niger State and the Federal Capital Territory using Krejcie and Morgan’s table. A purposive sampling technique was utilized, and data were collected through validated questionnaires. Instrument reliability was assessed using the test-retest method and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.814). Data analysis was conducted using Mann-Whitney and T-tests via SPSS Version 21. Results: Findings revealed that unbullied students significantly outperformed bullied students academically. Males were identified as the predominant perpetrators, while females were the primary victims. The study also highlights effective anti-bullying strategies, including policy implementation, school climate improvement, teacher training, and student-led initiatives. Novelty: This study provides empirical evidence on the academic consequences of bullying within science education in Nigeria, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions. It contributes to the literature by proposing practical measures for school administrators and policymakers to mitigate bullying and support affected students

Stabilization of Soil with Cassava Peel Ash – Lime Admixture

This project examined the geotechnical properties of lateritic soils modified with Cassava Peel Ash-Lime admixture with a view to obtaining a cheaper and effective road stabilizer. After collecting samples 1, 2 and 3 from three borrow pits meant for road construction works, preliminary tests was performed on the samples for identification and classification purposes, followed by the consistency limit tests. Engineering property tests (compaction, California bearing ratio (CBR) and Unconfined Compressive Strength) was performed on both at the stabilized and unstabilized states with the addition of 2, 4, 6 and 8% Cassava Peel ash and 1%, 2% and 3% lime contents. The results showed that the soil samples were well graded sand with fair to poor rating as subgrade material for pavement construction. However, the engineering properties of the samples were further improved with the addition of Cassava Peel Ash-Lime Admixture. This caused reductions in the PI of samples 1 from 9% to 1% and 6%. Optimum values of maximum dry densities (MDD) and shear strengths were obtained at 4% for sample 1 and 3, 6% at sample 2 CPA+Lime stabilization. MDD increased to 1.680, 1.680 and 1.920 Mg/m3 respectively in samples A, B and C. We therefore concluded that Cassava Peel Ash-Lime Admixture has a good potential for improving the geotechnical properties of lateritic soils. Keywords: Cassava peel ash, Compaction, California bearing ratio, unconfined Compressive Strengt

Seasonal and spatial occurrence of plankton and environmental variables in Ogun coastal water on the Bight of Benin

The influence of environmental variables on the seasonal and spatial distribution of plankton was studied for 24 months between February 2015 and January 2017 in the marine coastal water of Ogun State, Nigeria. The coastline was stratified into three sampling stations, and surface water samples were collected monthly per station for physico-chemical and plankton analyses. Mean values of physico-chemical parameters were: temperature (28.60±0.27°C), salinity (29.25±0.45‰), pH (7.38±0.07), electrical conductivity (42.13±0.33μS/l), total dissolved solids (29.59±0.30mg/l), dissolved oxygen (6.48±0.07mg/l), phosphate (1.36×10-2±0.39mg/l) and nitrate (2.25×10-2±0.65mg/l). The dominant phytoplankton and zooplankton groups were Diatomaceae (42.06%) and Calanoids (25.42%), respectively. Spatial diversity analysis of plankton in the study area showed that the highest (19, 35) species richness and abundance (5703, 12,452) for phytoplankton and zooplankton, respectively occurred in Site 3. Seasonal species richness of phytoplankton and zooplankton was higher in the wet (27, 40) than the dry (23, 38) season. Canonical correspondence analysis explained 77.8% of the influence of environmental variables on plankton distribution. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, phosphate, pH, TDS and nitrate were the most marked factors that affected the distribution and abundance of plankton

Modified water-cement ratio law for compressive strength of rice husk ash concrete

This work examines the modification of age long water – cement ratio law of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) concrete to cater for concrete with Rice Husk Ash (RHA). Chemical analysis of RHA produced under controlled temperature of 600°C was carried out. A total of one hundred and fifty (150) RHA concrete cubes at five different water/binder ratios and at six replacement levels of RHA (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%) were produced with specific attention given to cement/water (c/w) content and RHA/water (r/w) content. The cubes were subjected to compressive strength test at 56 days of curing producing a compressive strength in the range of 3.77 N/mm² to 34.04N/mm². A linear polynomial model was fitted into the experimental data using Minitab Package and was found adequate with an adjusted coefficient of determination of 73.0%.Test results show that the compressive strength of hardened RHA concrete depends on cement/water content by weight on one part and RHA/water content by weight on the other part. This indicates that the model equation is suitable to evaluate the compressive strength of RHA concrete at 95% confidence interval and the linear model has the capability of explaining the variability in the data by 73%.Keywords: water-cement ratio, compressive strength, rice husk ash, model

Defining genes and circuits affecting naive and experience-dependent alcohol preference in Drosophila melanogaster

Despite alcohol being one of the most used and abused drugs in the world, the molecular mechanisms underlying alcohol abuse disorders remain largely unknown. In this dissertation, I utilized the model system Drosophila melanogaster to identify genes and circuits affecting ethanol-induced behaviors. From an unbiased genetic screen, I identified a novel gene that affects ethanol consumption in both flies and humans. Ras suppressor 1 (Rsu1) is required in the adult Drosophila nervous system for normal sensitivity to ethanol-induced sedation, and acts upstream of Rac1 and downstream of integrin to regulate the actin cytoskeleton. In a two bottle choice assay called the capillary feeding (Café) assay, loss of Rsu1 causes immediate heightened alcohol preference compared to wild type's initial naïve aversion. In contrast, flies specifically lacking Rsu1 in the mushroom bodies show normal initial aversion to alcohol, but then fail to acquire ethanol preference like normal flies do. Our data show that not only is Rsu1 required for normal alcohol responses, it suggests that different anatomical brain structures in flies control distinct alcohol behavioral responses. In humans, we find that polymorphisms in RSU1 are associated with brain activation in the ventral striatum during reward anticipation in adolescents and alcohol consumption in both adolescents and adults. Together, these data suggest a conserved role for integrin/Rsu1/Rac1/actin signaling in modulating reward-related phenotypes, including ethanol consumption in flies and humans. Using a modified Café paradigm, we investigated whether dopamine plays a role in both the aversive and experience-dependent properties of alcohol. I show that distinct subsets of DA neurons innervating the Fan-shaped body (FSB) and Mushroom body (MB) mediate naïve alcohol aversion (NAA) and experience-dependent alcohol preference (EDAP) respectively in flies. Furthermore, Rac1-dependent actin alteration in these anatomical structures (FSB and MB) also mirror dopaminergic-induced neuronal activity in these circuits suggesting that dopamine functions upstream of Rac1-signaling to affect alcohol preference in flies. Taken together, my dissertation suggests a conserved role for dopamine and the integrin/Rsu1/Rac1/Cofilin/Actin signaling pathway in modulating drug-induced behavioral plasticity across phyla, and highlights Drosophila as an effective model for integrative translational research

Teaching Science Education in Nigeria Universities for Innovation, Group Collaboration, Job Creation, Accessing Bank Loans and Creative Society for Young Inventors

This paper examined the necessity for teaching science education in Nigeria universities for innovation, group collaboration, job creation, accessing bank loans and creative society for young inventors. It maintains that universities should be robust institutions where students will be able to diversify their knowledge into creativity and innovation. It also emphasized that innovation and creativity are driving forces to productivity which involve applying creative ideas to practical solutions and bringing them to market implementation. It links innovation and creativity to valuable assets and skills that could be fostered and developed in individuals and within institutions. The paper buttresses on need for collaboration among science education postgraduate students as it has a way to encourage innovation and creativity, that is when individuals with a diverse range of skills and backgrounds come together, it leads to the exchange of unique perspectives and ideas. It emphasizes aims to prepare the mindset of postgraduate students during the course work towards innovation and creativity, to set a pace for job creation for the present and future generations. And seeks the supports of banks with access to loans for set-up capital among others. Therefore, conclusion was made that teaching science education in Nigeria universities optimizes innovation, group collaboration, job creation, accessing bank loans and creative society for young inventors. Thus, the paper recommends among others that, postgraduate students should as a matter of urgency be schooled to perceive science education in Nigeria universities as relate to innovation and creativity and should be helped to see knowledge as a products and services