Effect of Different Concentrations of Titanium Oxide (TiO2) Addition on the Crystallization Behaviour and Some Properties of Alkaline Earth Aluminosilicate Glass-Ceramics

Glass-ceramics in the CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2 quaternary base glass system was produced via melting technique using feldspar, limestone and magnesite as sources of starting materials. Glass-ceramics production involves making a base glass, annealing and cooling to room temperature and then reheating the base glass to nucleation and crystal growth temperatures. Characterization of the produced glass-ceramics was carried out using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The effects of the crystallization process on some properties such as hardness, chemical durability in acid and alkali media of samples were determined. The results portrayed that glass-ceramic samples to which various amounts of TiO2 (2,4,6,8 and 10 wt.%) were incorporated showed the formation of crystalline phases dispersed in the matrix of their respective residual glassy phases. Significant improvement in hardness, as well as minimum weight loss, were recorded for all the glass-ceramic samples. On the contrary, the glass samples did not crystallize despite subjecting them to heat treatment, their hardness values were low and they were not resistant to acid (1M HCl) and alkali (1M NaOH) attacks. The inability of TiO2 addition to fully transform them into glass-ceramics remains a shortcoming. However, the glass-ceramic samples obtained from this study can be used for tiling works.

Development and Performance Evaluation of a Hand-Pushed Tiger Nut Harvester

Harvesting is one of the major problems encountered by tiger nut farmers in Nigeria. Manual harvesting system is the most commonly used method. This process is costly, labour intensive and time-consuming. The process does not also give farmers adequate returns to enable them to break even due to huge losses encountered. The objective of this study was to design, construct and evaluate a hand-pushed harvester that would eliminate the challenges being faced by small and medium tiger nut farmers during harvesting. Materials selection for constructing the harvester were based on their durability and availability, affordability and ease of replacement if damaged. They include mild steel (3 mm, 5 mm), 30 mm galvanized steel hollow pipe, 10 mm diameter steel rod, and 400 mm steel tyre. The developed harvester was evaluated at the experimental farm of the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR). Results of the study show that the average field capacity ranges from 0.28 – 0.33 ha/h while the average field efficiency was between 77.78 – 80.49% depending on operating speed, moisture content and other properties of the soil. No field damage was recorded when the harvester was used as against an approximate 10.50% damage recorded in the manual harvesting method.

Valuers’ Perception of Expert Witnessing in Real Estate Litigation Practice in Ibadan, Oyo State

The study examined the valuers’ perception of expert witnessing in real estate litigation in Ibadan, Oyo State with the aim of improving professional practice. Primary data was collected from respondents 103 registered valuers (RSV) drawn using systematic random sampling technique from 158 financial members contained in the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON) directory. Data collected from 87 returned questionnaires were analysed using frequency, percentage distribution, mean scores and factor analysis. The result established that rent dispute was the commonest real estate litigation where Valuers as an expert witness had been involved. The result shows that expert witnesses in the study area were experienced professional valuers who could sufficiently guide decision making in real estate litigations and give objective and sound evidence. Also, the findings showed that there is no statistically significant variation between the professional qualification and their level of engagement in real estate litigation as the p>.05 level for respondents [F(2,76)=.067, p= .935] for ESV. This infers that the respondents’ involvement in litigation was not a function of professional qualification of the respondents. The study recommended that for efficient expert witnessing in real estate litigations, valuers need to understand the procedures of being an expert witness and develop sufficient knowledge in the area of expert witnessing.

Determinants of Affordability in Rental Housing in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria

This study assesses the determinants of affordability in rental housing in Ogbomoso, Southwest, Nigeria. The location was borne out of the fact that the city houses Ladoke Akintola University of Technology which is a source of employment. Ogbomoso North Local Government Area, the domiciled home of the University was purposively selected for the study. Random sampling was used in selecting two hundred and thirteen households. The questionnaire and observation formed the basic instruments for data collection which were administered to respondents to collect information on socioeconomic characteristics such as; house type and condition as well as house rent. Both descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were employed in the presentation of the findings; correlation analysis was used to test the relationship between households’ income and house type. The bulk of the respondents collect N11,000 – N20,000 (35.2%) indicating they are low-income workers, while the significant house type was Brazilian rooming house (40.2%). Correlation analysis shows that there is a significant relationship between house type and households’ income (p=0.030) indicating house type is a function of household income. The study suggests among others that, the income of residents should be factored into housing policies in Nigeria in determining the housing needs of people.

Students’ Satisfaction with Teaching Spaces: Study of a State-Owned University in Southwestern Nigeria

Teaching spaces are needed for direct or physical contact between lecturers and students. The degree of students’ satisfaction with teaching facilities and services provided in our universities are likely to influence their academic performance. This study examined the factors influencing students’ satisfaction with learning spaces in Osun State University, Osun State, Nigeria. A sample size of 591 respondents drawn from 300 level and 400 level in the College of Science, Engineering and Technology (Osogbo Campus) and the College of Management and Social Science (Okuku Campus) were sampled through a structured questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale using a random cluster sampling technique. The results revealed that students were very satisfied with the spatial and physical configurations of the teaching spaces. Attitude to learning and students’ subject understanding were highly and positively related to students’ satisfaction, their respective values were 0.751 and 0.721. The paper concluded with suggestions on how students’ satisfaction can be improved by providing facilities that will enable electronic teaching and learning.

Acceptability of Corbel Construction for Housing Development in Ogbomoso, Southwest, Nigeria

This study assesses the knowledge and attitude of people on the use of corbel arch for lintel construction to reduce concreting in housing construction. Ogbomoso was the case study and Ikose community was purposively selected being a fringe area receiving an influx of people from the city. Google earth and ground-truthing were used in capturing one hundred and eighty-nine inhabited houses and questionnaire was the instrument for data collection and was administered to collect information on the socio-economic background of respondents, knowledge of material and willingness to utilise. Descriptive statistics were employed in the presentation of findings; chi-square was used to test the relationship between characteristics of residents and willingness to adopt the material. Analysis showed that 32.5% were 51-60 years; 60.4% were male; while 62.1% of the respondents were married. Also, 38.2% had modern/ secondary/technical/teacher’s grade II certificate, while 38.1% were traders. Only 12.1% of respondents knew the material, 68.5% were willing to utilise based on availability within the environment and ability to mitigate the effect of climate change, while 57.1% will recommend its usage. Gender, educational background, income and access to information are significantly related to willingness to utilise the material (P =0.000). Suggestions were made towards factoring the material into housing policies in Nigeria.

Design and Performance Evaluation of a Stone Crusher

Crushers are essential machines in several industries for particle size reduction. They are invaluable in laboratories (higher institutions and research centres), the mining and construction industries. Available crushers are imported and very expensive. This has pushed some workers around Nigeria to crush stones with crude materials and manual labour, to meet the demand of the various sectors while neglecting the hazards involved. A hammer mill has been designed with due considerations to standard design requirements, local content and cost. The power required to crush granite with the desired through put of 400 kg/h was found to be 5.5 kW. Major factors considered for the material selection are the mechanical properties, wear of materials, fabrication requirement and cost. The machine was fabricated using locally available materials. The fabricated stone crusher was tested and the actual capacity was found to be 301 kg/h with a through-put efficiency of 75.4 %. The crushed products were well graded with 1.89 coefficient of gradation and uniformity coefficient of 10.22. The machine was produced at a cost of two hundred and forty-five thousand, two hundred naira (₦245,200.00 {US$595.15}).

Assessment of Real Estate Outsourcing Practice of Banks and Telecommunication Companies in Lagos, Nigeria

The purpose of this paper is to examine real estate services that are outsourced in the banking and telecommunication sectors and the procedures adopted in outsourcing in Nigeria with a view to providing information that could help in enhancing corporate real estate practice. Primary data were collected with the aid of questionnaires from the 27 banks and 6 telecommunication operators (totalling 33) who were assessed through their corporate real estate officers. Total enumeration of the 33 selected business organisations was purposively adopted and the data were analysed using frequency and percentage. The study found that 96.3% and 83.3% of banks and Telecommunication companies respectively insourced real estate strategic planning services A total of (69.7%) in-sourced client relationship management. Also, the most frequently outsourced services by banking and telecommunication companies were property valuation (72.7%), space planning (54.5%), facility management (54.5%), feasibility studies (33.3%), site selection and property leases (55.5%) among others. The result also showed that two (6.05%) categories of organizations adopted the World Bank procedures for selecting outsourced real estate consultants. Professional Estate Surveyors must be up and doing when services are outsourced to them so as prevent usurpation of responsibility and functions from professionals in the built environment and others competing for works in the estate surveying valuation business domain

Upgrading the Glass Bead Making Furnace for Ease of Operation: A Case Study of the Masaga Glass Guild

The glass bead making furnace of the Masaga Glass Guild in Bida, Niger State Nigeria was evaluated in comparison to those of Ghana (Krobo) and India (Firozabad); it was discovered that the Masaga furnace falls short of an efficient system for sustainable work that should facilitate appreciable productivity. Furthermore, the furnace is not built with refractory bricks, implying that it has a short life span; the furnace is operated by hand-worked traditional cloth bellows requiring sustained and strenuous efforts over a relatively long period of time; Following this assessment, efforts were directed at modifying the furnace by producing design drawings of the modified furnace, design and production of refractory bricks from the design drawing, constructing the modified furnace structure using the refractory bricks, producing suitable furniture for the furnace and subsequently, devising a suitable mechanical blower device as an alternative to the manually worked bellows for the supply of combustion air. Consequently, a furnace was developed which eliminates the strenuous manual working of the bellows as well as the bellow operator and ensures that a single individual can work unassisted at the furnace in the process of glassware production.

The Effect of Climate Change on the Health of Aged People in Ibadan, Nigeria

Susceptibility to ill health among aged people had been linked with climate change impacts in rapidly urbanising cities. Therefore, this study evaluates to the vulnerability of aged people to the health impacts of climate change in Ibadan, Nigeria. Data on clinically diagnosed climate related diseases (CRDs) (2000 – 2014) among aged people (>50 years) and temperature and rainfall parameters (1970 – 2007) in Ibadan were obtained and projected to year 2050. Also, the relationship between the climatic parameters and incidence of the five most prevalent CRDs were analysed using multiple regression. The increasing trend of mean maximum temperature (r = 0.47) and rainfall (r = 0.15) is associated with incidences of hypertension (34.4%), respiratory diseases (21.2%) and diarrhoea (14.3%) among aged people (> 60 years), mostly male folk (67.2%). The linear composite of disease communalities extracted 84.0% variance of the data set with the following component scores: skin disease (0.98), hypertension (0.96), respiratory disease (0.92), diarrhoea (0.89) and malaria (0.45). Further, CRDs (R2 = 27%, p = 0.012) in Ibadan among aged people could be significantly attributed to influences of climatic parameters. The study suggests building aged peoples’ resilience to emanating impacts through health and nutritional improvement programs, and re-introduction of neighbourhood parks and gardens.