Akwa Ibom State Research Articles

INTERNET RESOURCES FOR APPAREL ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN AKWA IBOM STATE

The study determined the internet resources for apparel entrepreneurship among small and medium scale enterprises in Akwa Ibom State. Three specific objectives were stated, and three research questions were raised to guide the study. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 151 registered small and medium scale entrepreneurs of apparel in Uyo Senatorial District, Akwa Ibom State. The sample size of 120was drawn from the population through simple random sampling technique. A researcher-developed instrument titled “Internet Resources for Apparel Entrepreneurship Questionnaire (IRAEQ)” was used to collect data for the study. Mean and chi-square statistics were used for data analysis. Findings of the study revealed that internet resources such as Facebook, Google, TikTok, Instagram, UseNet, Appstore, WhatsApp, YouTube, Podcast, Business Blogs, Startup app are appropriate for apparel. Also, internet resources help in communication, advertisement, information, marketing, styles and designs on apparel entrepreneurship. Some small and medium scale entrepreneurs could not access information on apparel businesses due to lack of digital skills and facilities. There is a significant influence of utilizing internet resources for apparel entrepreneurship. The researchers recommend among others that small and medium enterprises should be well funded by government for the procurement of internet facilities.

Social Variables and Maladaptive Behaviours among Secondary School Students in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The study examined Social variables and Maladaptive behaviour of public senior secondary school students in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria Three research questions were formulated and three hypotheses were stated in their null form and tested with appropriate statistics at a .05 level of significance. The descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 54,216 senior secondary two (SS2) students in all 235 public secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Nwana’s sampling formula was used to select 20% of students from nineteen (9) public secondary schools. The researcher made use of a questionnaire entitled (FVSDBTQ) to obtain data from respondents. The instrument was validated by experts in the sociology of Education and Measurement and Evaluation from the Department of Educational Foundations, Guidance and Counseling, University of Uyo, Uyo. Cronbach Apha analysis for internal consistency reliability of the instrument yielded a coefficient of .96. Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested using independent t-test and ANOVA. The study revealed that social variables differ in terms of the maladaptive behaviour of secondary school students in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The independent t-test and ANOVA of the hypotheses indicated significant differences in students’ maladaptive behaviour based on family discipline, family emotional climate and parent-child relationship. It was, therefore, concluded that social variables differ significantly based on students’ maladaptive behaviour in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The researcher made some useful recommendations which include: parents should also take the discipline of their children seriously; parents should show a good example for their children to emulate and parents should also develop a healthy relationship with their children to help them develop good moral behaviour among other recommendations.

Role of Organisational Culture in Enabling Effective Communication and Total Quality Management Practices in Champion Breweries Plc, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Organisational culture shapes communication patterns and effectively implements Total Quality Management (TQM) practices. However, there is limited empirical research on how organisational culture influences these aspects, especially in developing countries like Nigeria. This study aimed to examine the role of organisational culture at Champion Breweries PLC in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, in enabling or hindering communication and TQM practices. A quantitative survey was conducted with a sample of 278 employees. The results revealed that while Champion Breweries' culture encourages openness and continuous improvement to some degree, enhancements are needed in organisational transparency, cross-departmental collaboration, employee involvement, and learning orientation to support communication and TQM fully. Key cultural aspects that facilitate effective practices include teamwork, shared goals and customer focus. However, empowerment and continuous improvement mindsets need reinforcement. Leadership is pivotal in championing culture evolution focused on greater openness, collaboration and empowerment. The study concludes that shaping a quality-focused culture is crucial for optimal TQM implementation and communication effectiveness. It provides insights into realigning organisational culture with quality objectives through initiatives targeted at assumptions, values, structures and leadership role modelling. It is recommended that, the leadership at champion breweries, needs to spearhead culture change through their communication and behaviours, consciously. Also should transparency, collaboration, learning and empowerment that are vital for commination and TQM effectiveness.

Influence of Leadership Style on TQM Implementation in Champions Breweries, PLC, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study examined the influence of leadership style on Total Quality Management (TQM) implementation effectiveness at Champions Breweries in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Successful TQM adoption relies on leadership approaches that empower employees and catalyse engagement in continuous improvement. However, research shows authoritarian leadership styles focused on control remain prevalent in Nigerian firms, potentially hindering quality management. However, only some studies have quantitatively assessed the linkage between leadership style and TQM success in the Nigerian context. This study, addressed this gap by investigating whether Champions Breweries' leadership style impacted the effectiveness of TQM implementation. Quantitative survey methodology, gathered data from 218 employees on perceptions of leadership behaviours and TQM programme success. Descriptive statistics, revealed that an authoritarian leadership style, characterised by top-down decision-making, command-and-control behaviours, and limited employee empowerment prevailed. ANOVA results demonstrated a significant relationship between this authoritarian leadership style and reduced TQM implementation success. The findings align with studies showing that authoritative approaches focused on control rather than empowerment undermine quality management through reduced engagement and initiative-taking. To strengthen TQM outcomes, Champions Breweries should implement leadership training focused on participative management skills, decentralise organisational structure, and align talent management systems, to participative leadership. The study, provides empirical evidence that leadership style significantly impacts TQM success in Nigerian firms. Evolving from authoritarian paradigms is essential to build cultures of quality, which should be predicted on leadership training, reform performance management and rewards system amongst other as some of the recommendation.

Federalism in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and the Way Forward

The study investigated Federalism in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges.To achieve this purpose, Survey research design was adopted. This design was found suitable because it involves using a self-designed questionnaire in collecting data from the respondents. The Population of the study consisted of all the respondents in Akwa Ibom State. A sample of 200 respondents was selected using purposive sampling technique. The Instrument used for obtaining data was a researcher developed instrument entitled “Practice of Federalism Questionnaire (PFQ)”. The instrument was given face validation by experts. In order to establish the reliability of the instrument, a pilot study was carried out on a sample of 30 respondents using a test-retest method. Data generated from the study were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test analysis for both research questions and t-test respectively. The results of the findings showed that there is a significant influence of Federalism in Nigeria: Issues and Challenges based on resource allocation, inter-ethnic competition and inter-governmental relations. Based on the findings, it is recommended among others that there should be a review of Revenue Allocation Formulae to emphasize the Derivation Principle and allocation of larger percentage of resources to states, there should also encourage and facilitate dialogue among ethnic leaders and civil society organizations to address grievances and promote peaceful coexistence. Finally,there should consider devolving more powers to the state and local governments, allowing them to have greater control over matters that directly affect their communities. This promotes local governance and development.

Community-Based Organisations and Crime Management in Nigeria: A Study of Rural and Urban Centres of Akwa Ibom State

The complementary potency of Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) to government efforts informed the need for this study on “CBOs and crime management in Nigeria: a study of rural and urban centers of Akwa Ibom”. It aimed at appraising the role of CBOs in crime management, the effectiveness of such roles, and the possible factors that affect the CBOs in their bid to contribute to crime management with emphasis on a comparative analysis of such realities in urban and rural centers. The study was guided by the assumptions of the Goal Theory made popular by McClelland, Humble, Locke, and Cole. Utilizing the survey research method, a multi-stage sampling technique was employed to select two hundred and forty (240) respondents who were of value and the chi-square test was the instrument for statistical analysis. Emerging data showed that CBOs had not played significant roles in the management of crime, there was a similitude in roles played by the CBOs irrespective of the center, and there were urban-rural based differences in the kind of problems the CBOs experienced. In the main, the study acknowledged that CBOs are capable of contributing positively to crime management; but they should be intentional and more focused on managing crime in their areas of operation.

Career Training and Employee Performance in Money Deposit Banks in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between career training and employee performance in money deposit banks in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. The strategies of career training employed by Money Deposit Banks in equipping their employees were used as pre-determined factors in measuring career training. These strategies of On-the-job Training and Career Mentoring formed the independent variables for the study. The dependent variable was employee performance. The study adopted a descriptive research design and the population of the study consisted of 200 employees of Money Deposit Banks in Akwa Ibom State. A purposive sampling technique was adopted by the researchers. Data for the study were collected using structured copies of questionnaire from two hundred (200) employees. The research hypothesis were tested using the Pearson Moment Correlation Coefficient (PMCC) analysis technique to establish the nature and degree of relationship between the critical variables of career training and the dependent variable, employee performance at a 5% level of significance. From the data analysis, findings revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between on-the-job training and career mentoring on employee’s performance in Money Deposit Banks in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. From the findings, it was concluded that there is a positive and significant relationship between the critical variables of career training (on-the-job training and career mentoring) and employees’ performance in Money Deposit Banks in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Based on this, it was recommended that the management of Money Deposit Banks in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria should recruit and train employees who are likely to become actively associated with the objectives of the organization to bring about adequate growth. Also, the banking industry should set aside a department, unit or set of individuals to check and encourage mentoring of staff and make recommendations to management in different years of operation.

Impacts of human activities on trace metals of Qua Iboe River, Ikot Ekpene Stretch, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Water, whether used for the purpose of drinking, irrigation, domestic purposes, has an important impact on health. Although pollution can occur naturally, it is the anthropogenic (man-induced) pollution that crates more problems. These activities include agriculture, fishing, sand mining, boating and a host of other activities carried out by man capable of polluting water bodies significantly (Akpan et al., 2024). The assessment of impacts of human activities on levels some trace metals (Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu and As) in water samples from Qua Iboe River, Ikot Ekpene stretch, Akwa Ibom State, was carried out using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The levels of trace metals obtained across the sampling locations were significantly higher in location (Afaha Ikot Ebak) with tremendous human activities and lowest at location (Uwa) with least human activities. The trend of the levels of trace metals obtained across all the sampling locations in both seasons indicated Cu > Cr > Cd > Pb > As. The levels of the trace metals obtained across the sampling locations showed significant positive relationship with levels of human activities across the sampling locations. Although the levels of all the trace metals determined were within WHO (2011) permissible limits, they were significantly higher at locations with tremendous human activities. The results of this study indicated that the studied river could be sustained for use by the present and future generations through routine monitoring to prevent escalation in levels of these pollutants beyond tolerability limits given by regulatory bodies.

Activity concentration, transfer factor and radiological health risk assessment of natural radionuclides in soil and maize in oil producing areas in Akwa Ibom state, Nigeria

The activity concentration (AC) of 238U, 232Th, 40K of soil and maize in oil producing areas has been studied. Also studied are the transfer factor (TF) from soil to maize and the radiological health risk associated with consumption of maize. The equipment used was the Sodium Iodide-Thallium (NaI(TI)) detector. The mean activity concentration (AC) (Bqkg-1) of 238U, 232Th, 40K in soil are 12.77±0.25, 41.36±0.70 and 458.61±8.04 while that of maize are 14.36±0.27, 19.23±0.46 and 425.25±7.87 respectively. Transfer factor (TF) from soil to maize of 238U, 232Th and 40K are 1.14, 0.50 and 0.94 correspondingly. Other useful results obtained in this research include the Radium Equivalent (Raeq), Absorbed Dose Rate (ADR), Annual Effective Dose (AED) and Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) as 74.59 Bq/kg, 37.14 nGy/h, 0.05 mSv/y and 0.16 respectively. The average values of soil activity concentration from the oil producing areas are within world permissible limits given by UNSCEAR (2000) as 420 Bqkg-1 for 40K, 33 Bqkg-1 for 238U and 45 Bqkg-1 for 232Th. However, 238U and 232Th from maize activity concentration are far higher than world permissible limits of 0.02 Bqkg-1 and 0.003 Bqkg-1 respectively. The mean value of the radiological hazard indices was below the WMPV given as 370 Bq/kg for Raeq, 59 nGy/h for ADR, 1 mSv/y for AED and 0.29×10-3 for ELCR. This clearly shows that radiation doses exposed to Akwa Ibomites through the consumption of maize cultivated in this area poses very little to no effect to their health as only about 16 out of every 100,000 persons may likely have cancer fatality in their time.

Geophysical investigation of aquifer flow unit characteristics in northern parts of Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria

The heterogeneous nature of the aquifer system poses significant challenges to both aquifer delineation into hydraulic flow units (HFUs) and the assessment of groundwater flow efficiency. This heterogeneity leads to changes in aquifers’ hydraulic parameters, which include porosity, flow and storage capacities, permeability, flow Zone Indicator (FZI) and aquifer quality index (AQI). Thus, the key aim of this study is to examine aquifer flow unit characteristics in Ikot Ekpene and Obot Akara municipalities by categorizing the units into distinctive HFUs via the combined application of the electrical resistivity technology (ERT), Stratigraphic Modified Lorenz Plot (SMLP) and Flow Zone Indicator (FZI) techniques. The area is shown to comprise successions of three to four sandy layers with minor clay interbeddings at few locations from the ERT results. The aquifer units are found in layers two and three respectively at depths of between 1.6 and 30.2 m with 30.2–89.0 m thickness. The results of the FZI technique identify two distinct HFUs in the area with respective discrete rock typing (DRT) values of 14 and 15 whereas that of the SMLP method reveal 5 unique HFUs, each characterised by similar flow characteristics. The delineated flow units from the SMLP results are classified as conductors with a fair efficiency ranking. This ranking seems to correlate with the DRT results for the delineated unconsolidated sandy and gravelly sand aquifers, which are shown to be perfectly heterogeneous. These findings from this maiden study in the area are very promising and provide useful insights on groundwater flow characteristics in the area to assist groundwater resource regulating authorities and policy makers in making decisions on appropriate location of new water boreholes to satisfy the mushrooming water needs of the local population.

Incidence and Severity of Vine Rot and Wilt Disease of Telfairia occidentalis Caused by Athelia rolfii in Southern, Nigeria

Telfairia occidentalis is an important vegetable crop that is intensively grown in Southern Nigeria for its utilization in home dishes and commercialization. However, its production is being limited by vine rot infection caused by Athelia rolfsii. Information on the epidemiology in growing regions is important for the disease management. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate the incidence and severity of vine rot disease of Telfairia occidentalis in commercial fields across Abak, Akwa Ibom State. A total of nine established T. occidentalis fields in three locations, including the Cross River Basin Development Authority, Abak-Irrigation Project, were visited during the peak of dry season (November – December), 2021 and raining season (June - August), 2022 respectively. The fields were scored for vine rot disease incidence and severity using a well described scale. Random samples from symptomatic plants were collected and taken to the laboratory for fungi isolation and identification. Koch postulate was carried out to confirm the causal agents on one susceptible genotype of T. occidentalis in the study area. Overall number of plants showing varying levels of symptoms reaches 84% and total values for mean incidences’ rate (3.31 ± 0.06 and 3.19 ± 0.06) were recorded for both sampling period respectively. The result of this study revealed that the prevalent fungal pathogen that is responsible for vine rot and wilt disease of T. occidentalis in the study is A. rolfsii and presented information on the level and severity of infection that is indicative of the need to implement appropriate control measures for A. rolfsii disease in the study area.

Factors Influencing the Attitude of Students Towards the Study of Mathematics among Secondary Schools in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State Nigeria

Students’ attitude towards mathematics has been a factor that is known to influence students’ achievement in mathematics. This paper explored factors influencing the attitude of students towards the study of mathematics in Nigeria. This study used a descriptive survey design. A simple random sampling technique was further applied to obtain Mathematics teachers, junior and senior staff, and principals targeted in this research, equal to 273 staff. The study sampled 162 respondents. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis through the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 21. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression. The findings indicated that the teaching approach in teaching Mathematics was more correlated with students ‘attitudes in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State (r = 0.738; p= 0.000). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the problem-solving method contributed to 57.2% of the variation in the performance, hence playing a vital role in students ‘attitudes towards Mathematics subjects in public secondary schools. It was also inferred that the teaching approach increases positive attitudes toward learning Mathematics subject. The study recommended that the maximum effort should be given to improve the students‟ attitude toward mathematics by organizing forums such as seminars and workshops where teachers and other education stakeholders can support, motivate, and cultivate positive attitudes among their students.

INTERNET RESOURCES FOR APPAREL ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN AKWA IBOM STATE

The study determined the internet resources for apparel entrepreneurship among small and medium scale enterprises in Akwa Ibom State. Three specific objectiveswere stated,and three research questions were raised to guide the study. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised 151 registered small and medium scale entrepreneurs of apparel inUyo Senatorial District, Akwa Ibom State. The sample size of 120was drawn from the population through simplerandom sampling technique. A researcher-developed instrument titled“Internet Resources for Apparel Entrepreneurship Questionnaire (IRAEQ)” was used to collect data for the study. Mean and chi-square statistics were used for data analysis. Findings of the study revealed that internet resources such as Facebook, Google, TikTok, Instagram, UseNet, Appstore, WhatsApp, YouTube, Podcast, Business Blogs, Startup app are appropriate for apparel. Also, internet resources help in communication, advertisement, information, marketing, styles and designs on apparel entrepreneurship.Some small and medium scaleentrepreneurs could not access information on apparel businesses due to lack of digital skills and facilities. There is a significant influence of utilizing internet resources for apparel entrepreneurship.The researchers recommend among others that small and medium enterprises should be well fundedby government for the procurement of internet facilities.

INVESTIGATION OF POTASSIUM BROMATE IN BREAD FROM BAKERIES IN UKANAFUN COMMUNITY OF AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

Potassium bromate (KBrO3) is a dough improver used in baking bread to increase bread size and profit. However, the additive has been banned from use due to its adverse effects on human health. Despite its ban, some bakers, especially in rural communities continue to use it. The ingestion of potassium bromate is linked to a number of clinical problems including carcinogenicity, hepatotoxicity and neurotoxicity. Bread samples from five bakeries in rural communities in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria were randomly obtained and assessed for their levels of potassium bromate using spectrophotometric method. The absorbance of the standards and that of the samples were taken at 540 nm in the visible region of the spectrophotometer, then converted to concentrations with reference to a calibration curve constructed from pure potassium bromate sample solutions. All the bread samples contained potassium bromate and concentrations in the bread samples ranged from 5.16 – 8.50 mg/Kg. The values are beyond the allowed permissible level set by most international health standards that permit the use of the additive. The concentrations are higher than the permissible level of 0.02 mg/Kg set in Nigeria by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The ban should be enforced further especially in bakeries sited in rural communities in order to properly safeguard the health of consumers

The Influence of Social Capital and Farmers’ Specific Factors on the Poverty of Rural Farm Households in Akwa Ibom, State, Nigeria

This study analyzed the effect of social capital and other relevant factors on poverty of farm households and identified constraints militating against effective social capital formation among poor rural farm households belonging to associations in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was utilized to choose 180 rural farm households within the research location. The FGT methodology was used to generate indices of poverty. Descriptive statistics, Tobit model and factor analytical procedures were employed to analyze the objectives of the study. The estimated model showed high degree of fitness, thus justifying the estimation method used. The results revealed that, the following social capitals: farm size acquired from the association, income derived from membership of association, number of visits of extension agents, interest amount paid on loan acquired from association, fertilizer, seeds, pesticides and farm land acquired from the association have a significant negative relationship with the poverty of rural farm households in the study area. By implication, increase in the stock of these social capitals by poor farm households would significantly enhance the reduction of poverty depth among them. Moreover, other factors which affected farm household poverty status were sex of household heads, age, household size, years of formal education, farm income and ownership of assets. The results also found 8 categories of constraints militating against effective social capital formation among poor rural farm households. The constraints categories are: leadership, management style and low income; financial constraint and unconcerned attitude of members towards group activities; executive characters; ineffective coordination and unfair distribution of benefits to members; lack of seriousness of members; poverty; illiteracy and incompetence as well as defaults and partiality. From the result, it is concluded that social capital accumulations reduce the probability of being poor. Based on the high percentage of poverty prevalence in the State, it is concluded that poverty is endemic in the rural areas of Akwa Ibom State and specifically among farm households. This study lends support to recent emphasis on investing in social capital as a major means of poverty reduction in the rural areas.

Mathematical Modelling and Computational Dynamics of the impact of Quasi-Lockdown Policy in Control of COVID-19 in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Determining the impact of a local control strategy, implemented to curtail the spread of COVID-19 has become obligatory to enable policy makers to combat the so-called long covid. This research used a deterministic SEIAHR-model, incorporating a logistic function to investigate the effect of quasi-lockdown policy during reemergence of corona virus pandemic. The notion of uniform convergence and fixed point theory were used to establish positive invariant region, ultimate boundedness, and existence of unique solution of the model. Nonlinear dynamical behaviours of the model such as stability and oscillating flows occurred at the disease free, and endemic equilibrium points. Using centre manifold theory, a trans-critical bifurcation with hysteresis effect were established, when quasi-lockdown policy was used as a control parameter in the model. A forward sensitivity analysis was conducted to unfold parameters that contributed significantly towards the spread and control of the infection. These parameters were estimated and fitted using least square technique, comparative to the observed real datasets adapted from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). The polynomial regression model fitted the observed datasets with an average coefficient of determination given as R2 = 0.94. Simulations in form of phase space diagrams were used to validate the theoretic results. Epidemiologically, the model demonstrated that quasi-lockdown policy was necessarily a strategic policy to curb the spread of the infection, but not sufficient to eradicate the disease as the disease persisted endemically. It was shown that the basic reproduction number of the infection was within the critical threshold (R0 \(\le\) 1), when the lockdown policy was enforced strictly, but otherwise on relaxation of the lockdown policy (R0 \(\ge\) 1) Thus a relaxation of the quasi-lockdown policy leads to increase in susceptibility of the populace as the infection risk ratio increases in the model. Similarly, the model predicted that a pre-mature lifting of the lockdown policy could have led to high infectivity on the susceptible class and disastrous to healthy living of the citizens.

Perceived Organisational Support (POS) and the Performance of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour: The Nigerian Sample

This was designed to examine the influence of perceived organisational support (POS) on organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB) of civil servants in Nigeria. The study was conducted in Akwa Ibom State, a state in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Two hypotheses were formulated for the study, and data were collected using a questionnaire adapted from an instrument that had previously been used in a study. A sample size of 800 was conveniently chosen, and the collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics, hierarchical multiple regression analysis, and partial correlation analysis. Findings from the study indicate that POS has a significant influence on OCB. Also, findings show that perceived organisational support (POS) significantly influences the performance of organisational citizenship behaviours directed at the organisation (OCB-O) more than the performance of citizenship behaviours directed at other individuals (OCB-I) within the organisation. Consequently, managers should invest more in activities and programmes that will show that the employees are valued and that the organisations recognise the value they provide through their job performance.

Social Intelligence and Social Sustainability of Manufacturing Firms in Akwa Ibom State

The study was conducted to examine the social intelligence and social sustainability of manufacturing firms in Akwa Ibom State. Two specific objectives were developed, which metamorphosed into four research questions and four research hypotheses. A survey research design was adapted for the study. The population of the study consisted of two hundred and forty-eight (248) staff of manufacturing firms in Akwa Ibom State. The sample size was 153 staff using Taro Yamenes sampling technique. A questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. The hypotheses were tested using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistic (PPMC), which was used to test the hypotheses supported by Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 23). The result shows that there is a significant relationship between situational awareness and social sustainability (r = 0.847, p 0.001) and that there is a significant relationship between social skills and social sustainability (r = 0.682, p 0.003). Based on the findings, the study concluded that there is a significant relationship between social intelligence and the social sustainability of manufacturing firms in Akwa Ibom State. Thus, the study recommended that manufacturing firms should develop situational awareness by prioritizing the well-being of their employees and implementing welfare programs that promote a healthy work-life balance. They should actively engage with the employees and the local community to understand their needs and concerns. They should develop social skills by maintaining transparent and open communication channels with their employees, customers, and stakeholders to enhance their social intelligence and contribute to social sustainability, which will improve their overall business performance.

Emotional Abuse, Personality Types and Academic Performance of Primary School Pupils in Akwa Ibom State

This study investigated Emotional Abuse, Personality Types and Academic Performance of Primary School Pupils in AKwa Ibom State. Three research questions and three corresponding hypotheses were used to guide the study. The study adopted correlational research design. The sample of 500 primary school pupils (Basic 5) were drawn from the population through simple random sampling techniques are used for the study. Three instruments titled “Emotional Abuse Scale (EAS)”, “Personality Types Scale” (PTS) and “Academic Performance Test” (APT) were used for data collection. Face and content validity of the instruments was ascertained by experts in test and measurement and Guidance and Counseling. The reliability co-efficient of the instruments was also determined through Cronbach method and coefficients for EAS was 0.83 PTS was 0.77 and APT 0.84 respectively. The instruments were personally administered by the researchers through the help of research assistant (teachers). The analysis of the data was done using Pearson product correlation to answer the research questions while their corresponding hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level of significance, research question three were tested with multiple regressions while its corresponding hypothesis was tested with ANOVA associated with regression at 0.05 alpha level of significance. The summary of the findings showed that; there was significant relationship between emotional abuse, personality types and academic performance of primary school pupils in Akwa Ibom State independently taken. There was significant relationship between personality types (type A and type B) jointly taken and academic performance of primary school pupils in AkwaIbom State. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations and conclusion were made.

Effectiveness of New Media Technologies on Agricultural Production among Rural Households in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Background: This study assessed the effectiveness of new media channels on agricultural production among rural households in Akwa Ibom State. The objectives of the study were; to identify the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents in the study area, identify the types of new media channels available to rural households in the study area and assessed the effectiveness of new media on agricultural production in the study area. Methods: A multi stage sampling technique was used to select 250 respondents used for the study. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Result: The results of the study revealed that 36.6% of the respondents were aged between 41-50 years, with 39.20% and 28.20% having secondary and primary levels of education respectively. Whatsapp was the most popular new media channel available to the farming households. In terms of effectiveness, it was observed that new media was effective mostly in improving crop and animal husbandry. The results of the hypothesis showed that age of the farmers and educational level of the farmers were found significant. It is concluded that new media is a veritable tool in the development of agriculture in Akwa Ibom State in particular and Nigeria in general.