On Integrated Peer-Assisted Learning Clusters Among Students in a Nigerian University

Peer interaction to assist and learn from each other has been extended online in recent times. This study was conducted to find the pattern of participation in integrated peer-assisted learning and to investigate factors known to affect such participation among students in their peer-assisted learning clusters. The pattern of participation was established through the frequency with which the respondent use their preferred mode of peer interaction. Structural equation modeling was implemented to study the relationship between participation and the factors considered. Social medial is the most prevalent among the online means of interaction considered. Conflict, cohesion and effective leadership in the clusters have more direct effects on the other factors considered. The frequency of participation does not correlate significantly with the other personal and interpersonal factors considered. These findings suggest that the decision for voluntary participation in peer-assisted learning clusters are possibly driven by other factors such as academic.

Toyin Falola@65 Conference: African Knowledge and Alternative Futures

A defining moment for me at the Toyin Falola@65 Conference titled “African Knowledges and Alternative Futures” that ran from the 29th to the 31st of January 2018 at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, was the declaration at a paper presentation session by a scholar from a Nigerian university that the culture of making promotion of Nigerian academics dependent on publication in journals outside Nigeria, particularly from the West, is ultimately counterproductive to the development of a robust academic culture in Nigeria. “Do US or British academics, for example, have to publish in Nigerian journals?” he asked. This loaded question is at the heart of the challenges and paradoxes provoked by the conference. Another definitive encounter for me was another presenter’s outlining of the concept of an African, as different from an Asian or a Western epistemology or way of arriving at relating to knowledge. Yet another was Emmanuel Ofuasia’s explanation of what he describes as the Yoruba origin Ifa knowledge system’s anticipating of deconstructivist hermeneutics centuries before the development of this post-modern scholarly phenomenon in the West. Complementing these occurrences is yet another represented by Dr. Joan Ugo Mbagwu expounding on indigenous methods of conflict resolution and countering terrorism in Africa. I shall use these encounters as pivots in exploring the significance of the conference in the body of this essay.

Evaluation of Plasma Levels of Interleukin 6 and Iron Status of Football Players in a Nigerian University

To determine the levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and iron status of football players in Madonna University, Elele, Rivers State, Nigeria. A total number of 100 subjects were recruited for the study, comprising of 50 of football players before playing football (25 males and 25 females) and 50 of football players after playing football (25 males, 25 females) from Madonna University Nigeria, Elele Campus, Rivers State, Nigeria. The data obtained from the study were presented as Mean SD in tables and analysed using student t-test for parametric data using SPSS version 20. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. The results showed significant increase (p=0.004) in interleukin 6 (IL-6) of football players after playing compared to it before playing and no significant change (p=0.505) in the iron level of football players after playing compared to before playing respectively. The results also showed no significant change in interleukin 6 compared among football players based on gender and age groups and no significant change in the iron level of all the subjects. The study showed increase an in interleukin 6 (IL-6) of the football players after playing compared to the level before playing which shows that the physical activity increases the level of interleukin 6 and but has no effect on the iron level after football game.

Emotional Intelligence, Social Networking Skills and Online Counselling Communication Effectiveness Among Students of OAU, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

With a view to providing empirical information on the factors that influence online counselling communication among Nigerian university students, this study investigated the influence of emotional intelligence and social networking skills on the effectiveness of online counselling communication among students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). Through a descriptive survey research design, the study sampled 100 students purposively from users of the University online counselling platform, on the basis of being able to have established complete counselling interaction with any of the counsellors online during the harmattan and rain semesters of 2017/2018 session (or over a period of 12 months.). The results showed that 78.0%, 19.0% and 3.0% of the students demonstrated high, moderate and low levels of online counselling communication effectiveness respectively and that emotional intelligence has significant influence on online communication effectiveness (β = 0.790, p < 0.05). The results further showed that social networking skills has no significant influence on online communication effectiveness (F = 3.457, p > 0.05) and no significant interaction effect of emotional intelligence and social networking skill was found on online counselling communication effectiveness (F = 0.546, p > 0.05). The study concluded that the only factor that influenced online counselling communication effectiveness among the students under study is emotional intelligence

Return on investment (ROI) in subscription databases by Nigerian academic libraries: a survey

Aim: There seems to be a dearth of literature on how much Nigerian university libraries are spending on the acquisition of Online Electronic Database (OED). This study sets out to investigate the annual cost of acquiring this important and evolving aspect of library collection with the view of determining whether the returns in terms of utilization is commensurate with the invested fund. Methodology: The study adopts a quantitative research method. A self-developed questionnaire was used to collect data from 55 librarians in 41 academic libraries across Nigeria. The data collected were processed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Findings: Academic libraries in Nigeria spend an average of ₦12,500,000 or $32,637 on OED subscriptions annually. The study has shown that Nigerian academic libraries usually subscribe to the EBSCOhost and Research4Life databases with few adding specialized databases such as Law Pavilion, HeinOnline, Legalpedia, and ScienceDirect. To ensure adequate returns on investment, the libraries are massively providing support infrastructures, user education, and other information services. However, challenges limiting the widespread use of online databases include irregular power supply and slow internet connectivity among others. Conclusions: The study, therefore, concludes that there is a middling to low return on subscribed OED in Nigerian academic libraries. However, there are still various huddles that must be scaled for Nigerian academic libraries to reap adequate returns on their investments in online electronic databases.

Environmental Awareness and Plastic Recycling Behaviour of Nigerian Undergraduates

Several prior studies globally have linked education with environmental awareness and behaviour, however there is a need to address the research gap in developing countries on the impact environmental education can have on pro-environmental awareness and in promoting pro-environmental behaviours (PEB) especially among university students. This paper takes into account the influence of social norms on PEB such as plastic recycling and promotes the notion of sustainable education in Higher institutions of learning in Nigeria. Recommendations for policy makers and universities are also reflected upon as Nigerian universities are urged to take pro-active steps towards adapting their curriculums and environmental volunteering activities. Furthermore, the study suggest sustainability literacy tests are incorporated into Nigerian university educational policies in other to promote pro-environmental behaviours among students.