Geopolitical Zones Of Nigeria Research Articles

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Clinical Dental Practice in Nigeria

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on oral healthcare services globally. Objective: The main objective of this study was to determine the impact of COVID -19 pandemic lockdown on clinical dental practice in Nigeria and discuss how adverse impact could be mitigated. Methods: A cross-sectional self-administered pre-tested questionnaire-based survey of consenting dental practitioners from different States and geopolitical zones in Nigeria was employed for the study. Study participants were recruited by non-random convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Results: A total of 105 out of 142 respondents completed and returned the survey questionnaire giving a response rate of 74%. While only about 47% of respondents in public sector practice had their clinics shut down, all the respondents in private sector practice (100%) had their clinics closed down during the pandemic lockdown and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.000). Majority of respondents in private sector practice (65.4%) experienced income loss compared to 24.1% of respondents in public sector practice and this difference was also statistically significant (p=0.000). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with government instituted lockdown periods with attendant scaling down or outright closure of dental clinical practices in Nigeria. The private sector practice bore the brunt of the adverse impacts of the pandemic lockdown in terms practice shutdowns and attendant economic losses. The adverse impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on clinical dental practice could be mitigated by the incorporation of teledentistry into routine dental practice.

Inter-professional collaboration and knowledge management practices among clinical workforce in Federal Tertiary Hospitals in Nigeria

Effective health service delivery hinges on the interface between professionals rendering health services to the sick and the injured. This paper examined the inter-professional collaboration and knowledge management practices among the clinical workforce in Federal Tertiary Hospitals in three Geopolitical Zones of Nigeria. The study employed a non-experimental survey design. 550 questionnaires were administered out of which 479 were completed for analysis comprising 204 Medical Doctors, 180 Nurses and 95 Health Information Management Officers, which resulted into 87% response rate. Findings from the study revealed that knowledge acquisition was the most practiced, closely followed by knowledge application. In addition, cooperation was the most practiced form of inter-professional collaboration, next to it is partnership. The study revealed a significant relationship between inter-professional collaboration and knowledge management practices. It shows that only cooperation significantly influenced knowledge management practices while knowledge capturing and knowledge dissemination significantly influenced inter-professional collaboration. The study concluded that Federal Tertiary Hospitals in Nigeria will perform better if they can sustain the culture of knowledge management practices and inter-professional collaboration.

Exploring the why: risk factors for HIV and barriers to sexual and reproductive health service access among adolescents in Nigeria

BackgroundEarly sexual debut, low educational attainment, history of rape and transactional and intergenerational sex have been associated with HIV infection among Nigerian adolescents, especially females. We sought to understand the “why”, and how to mitigate against these determinants and barriers to addressing adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV prevention needs.MethodsThis qualitative study generated data from 49 focus group discussions with male and female adolescents living with and without HIV, healthcare workers, members of civil society organizations working with young people, and parents of adolescents living with HIV. Participants were recruited from all six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Data was analysed with ATLAS.ti software. Hermeneutic units were created, and codes developed from focus group transcripts. Network View Manager was used to create maps of codes, memos and quotations, and relevant quotes were retrieved from transcripts.ResultsFour major themes were identified, relating to individual, parental, community and government roles in reducing the risk of HIV and unplanned pregnancy among adolescents in Nigeria. Individual factors influencing sexual risk behaviours of adolescents include peer pressure, poor risk perception for HIV, and misconceptions about the efficacy of contraceptives and condoms. Respondents entrusted State responsibilities such as facilitation of HIV-affected adolescents’ access to education, rather, to individuals, parents and the community; and placed the blame for rape on rape survivors. Findings also highlighted the inadequacy of health systems to address adolescents’ needs for treatment of sexually transmitted infections and to provide appropriate education on secondary HIV prevention for those living with HIV.ConclusionRigorous studies are needed to understand dynamics between adolescents’ risk behavior, HIV risk perception, parental roles in mitigating HIV risk in adolescents, and the role of communities and government in HIV prevention and treatment for adolescents in Nigeria.

De-colonising global citizenship education for knowledge sharing and acceptable norms in Nigeria

A brief history of the teaching profession is related to the development of teacher education and the institutions associated with professional teacher training in Nigeria. The study adopts a qualitative research approach with a phenomenological research design and purposively selects 18 participants from 6 Geo-political zones of Nigeria with three participants from each zone. (South-South, North-East, South-East, North-Central, South-West, and North-West). A thematic approach is used to analyse the data from a semi-structured interview. The research engaged educators on thematic approaches to global citizenship education (GCE). A pilot study conducted by the researchers made a case for the de-colonisation of GCE in Nigeria to be embedded in a Continuous Professional Teacher Development (CPTD) program, for educators and stakeholders to acquire the skills that can support them to identify and manage disparities in knowledge sharing, values, ethics and social responsibility. While recommending a national adoption of UNESCO’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in professional teaching policy and praxis, the paper argues that homegrown CPTD programmes should be a core activity in the process of de-colonising GCE.

Academic performance and training of Library and Information Science (LIS) undergraduates in Nigeria

The study aims to determine the academic performance of Library and Information Science (LIS) undergraduates in Nigeria. There is an established relationship between academic performance and the quality of graduates from universities. Consequently, high academic performance will improve the quality of services that will be rendered by university graduates and vice-versa. This makes academic performance to be crucial for a professional course like Library and Information Science (LIS), therefore, necessitating the need for the evaluation of the academic performance of LIS undergraduates in Nigeria. Hence, a descriptive research design was adopted for this study and 14 universities from the federal, state and private categories in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria, were enumerated. The proportionate sampling technique was adopted to select 40% of 200 to 400 Level LIS undergraduates in each university, making a total of 1526. Primary and secondary data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics like percentages, frequencies, pie charts and columns. The result showed that the academic performance of most of the LIS undergraduates was on average. Thus, much is still desired to improve the quality of the academic performance of the LIS undergraduates. Therefore, the need for an enhanced attitude toward learning to raise quality librarians and information professionals.

Patterns of Presentation of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Nigeria: A Retrospective File Review

Background: An understanding of the patterns of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) is needed to develop the best diagnostic tools and decide on optimal treatment combination therapies for the management of DR-TB in Nigeria. Objective: We aimed to investigate patterns of DR-TB for the five first-line anti-TB drugs over a period of seven years (2010–2016) and the associated clinical and socio-demographic factors. Methods: A retrospective study recruited 2555 DR-TB patients between 2010 and 2016 across the six geopolitical treatment zones in Nigeria. We determined DR-TB patterns based on standard case definition and their association with demographic and clinical information. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Independent predictors of DR-TB patterns/types were determined using bivariate and multivariate analyses with a statistical significance of p < 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval. Results: The majority of the participants were males, 66.93% (1710), 31–40 years old, 35.19% (899), previously treated, 77.10% (1909), had received at least two treatments, 411 (49.94%) and were multi-drug resistant, 61.41% (1165). The Southwest zone had the highest number of DR-TB cases, 36.92%. We found an upward trend in the prevalence of DR-TB from 2010 to 2016. Participants who had received one previous treatment showed statistically significant higher rifampicin resistance (59.68%), those with two previous treatments reported a statistically significant higher polydrug resistance (78.57%), and those with three or more previous treatments had a statistically significant higher multidrug resistance (19.83%) (χ2 = 36.39; p = 0.001). Mono-drug resistance and rifampicin resistance were statistically significantly higher in the southwest zone (29.48% and 34.12% respectively), polydrug resistance in the northcentral (20.69%) and south-south zones (20.69%), and multidrug resistance in the southwest (30.03%) and northcentral zones (19.18%) (χ2 = 98.26; p = 0.001). Conclusions: We present patterns of DR-TB across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Clinicians should weigh in on these patterns while deciding on the best first-line drug combinations to optimize treatment outcomes for DR-TB patients. A national scale-up plan for DST services should focus on patients with previous multiple exposures to anti-TB treatments and on those in the Northeastern zone of the country.

The Dynamics of the Parental Satisfaction of the Children Receiving Occupational Therapy Services in a Resource-Limited Setting

The need to continuously appraise the satisfaction of the recipients of Occupational therapy (OT) services cannot be over-emphasized especially in settings where the practice can be best described as emerging and where there seems to be an inconsistent utilization of the service despite obvious significant positive outcomes. This study aims to evaluate the dynamics of the satisfaction of the parents of the children receiving paediatric Occupational therapy services in Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey of 100 parents of children receiving OT paediatric service in six Tertiary Health Institutions in two geopolitical zones in Nigeria was conducted. The participants were recruited with convenient sampling. Data was collected with Measures of Process of Care (MPOC-20) and analyzed with analysis of variance (ANOVA) on SPSS 22.0 Version. Findings showed that the parents' level of satisfaction was to a fairly great extent (Aggregate Mean =5.43) and there was no significant difference in the level of satisfaction of the parents based on gender or the geographical locations of the parents (F-Value of 2.25 and P = 0.56 of > α =0.05). Despite the limited resources and relatively- low awareness of OT in Nigeria, parents of children receiving Occupational therapy services are satisfied, though to a fairly great extent. Parents' expectations and yearnings for quality OT service are uniforms across the different zone of Nigeria. Therefore, it is recommended that OT practitioners in low and middle-income countries should from time- to -time evaluate the perception of their clients on the services provided to foster quality and collaborative care.

Land tenure and property rights, and the impacts on adoption of climate-smart practices among smallholder farmers in selected agro-ecologies in Nigeria

This study investigates the effects of land tenure and property rights (LTPRs) on smallholder farmers’ adoption of climate-smart practices (CSPs) among cereal farming households in Nigeria. The data were collected from maize and rice farmers in a Nation-wide Farm Household Survey conducted across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. Data collected were analysed within the framework of Multivariate Probit to determine the factors that facilitate and/or impede the adoption of CSPs. The results showed that the adoption of CSPs considered in this study – agroforestry, zero/minimum tillage, farmyard manure, crop rotation and residue retention - were generally low. Empirical analysis showed that farmers with transfer right were more likely to adopt farmyard manure, crop rotation and residue retention while the likelihood of adopting agroforestry reduced with having transfer right. The coefficient of de jure secure increased the likelihood of adopting zero/minimum tillage while the coefficient of control right increased the likelihood of adopting agroforestry. Again, we found that the adoption of zero/minimum tillage reduced with control and transfer rights. The study also contributes to the existing literature on adoption by recognizing the interdependence between different climate-smart practices as well as jointly analyse the decision to adopt multiple CSPs. The study therefore, suggests that governments, in whom the responsibility for land use policy reform lies, review the existing framework to ensure a prompt, fair, and efficient land tenure system.

Regional Trends and Socioeconomic Predictors of Adolescent Pregnancy in Nigeria: A Nationwide Study.

Adolescent pregnancy is a major health concern which has lifelong consequences. The aim of this study is to examine the regional trends and socioeconomic predictors of adolescent pregnancy in Nigeria. This study used pooled data from the 2008, 2013 and 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). A total of 22,761 women aged 15–19 years were selected across the three surveys. Multilevel logistic regression analysis that adjusted for cluster and survey weights was used to identify predictors of adolescent pregnancy in Nigeria, across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Adolescent pregnancy remained constant between 2008 (22.9%; 95% CI = 22.14, 24.66), and 2013 (22.5%; 95% CI = 20.58, 24.50), but a significant decline was reported in 2018 (18.7%; 95% CI = 17.12, 20.46). Trends show a decrease in adolescent pregnancy across all six geopolitical zones, except for the South-East zone which reported a slight increase (0.6%). Multivariable analysis revealed that the main socioeconomic predictors across all six geopolitical zones were: poor households, increasing age, and low education. Exposure to media (watching television and reading newspapers) was reported as predictor in all regions except the North-East geopolitical zone, while all northern zones reported high levels of adolescent pregnancy in male-led households. To address adolescent pregnancy in Nigeria, there is need to promote girls’ education especially among poor households, and for the dissemination of reproductive health messages to adolescents through various forms of mass media campaign, as well as the adoption of social marketing interventions to improve sexual and reproductive health literacy.

SEASONAL RESPONSES OF FLOWERING AND POD SETTING IN COWPEA (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp)

Seven varieties of cowpea, Vigna unguiculata L. Walp were studied in two field trials (the wet and dry seasons) in the 2021 cropping season in Agbor, South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, were laid out in a complete randomized block design (CRBD) with seven replications for seasonal responses of flowering and pod setting. The dry season crops were manually watered twice daily while the wet season crops were rain-fed. The study recorded that most of the cowpea genotypes grown in the wet season showed photoperiod sensitivity, flowering between 46.36 and 56.43 DAP with mean of 54.97 + 6.98. Pod setting was similar across genotypes but the number (9.64 + 8.29), while length of pods varied (14.66 + 2.83) as noted from field observations. Furthermore, Seeds per pod was not significant among varieties of the wet season but they were significant and among those of the dry season (9.37 + 5.17). Genotypes which flowered earlier produced higher number of pods per plant and gave better yield such as IT06K-149-1, IT98K-128-3, IT95K1072-57 and IT98K-506-1 with grain filling of 205.58, 186.3, 183.53 and 775.99 mean seeds respectively were consequently recommended for hybridization in cowpea breeding programmes in south-south Nigeria.

Serological Pattern of Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Risk Factors among Infected Individuals in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Hepatitis B virus infection is a serious global public health challenge that affects more than two billion people worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the serological pattern of HBV infection in HBV infected patients in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the serological pattern of hepatitis B infection in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. This was a comparative cross sectional study carried out on 260 hepatitis B patients and blood donors attending hepatitis B clinics, and blood banks in Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, Port Harcourt, Military Hospital, Port Harcourt, and University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Choba. The study involved the use of hepatitis B panel assay, measurement of prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection in Port Harcourt, assessment of hepatitis B serological markers in all subjects, determination of the presence and prevalence of occult HBV among participants. HBV 5-parameter (panel) Rapid Test kit was used to assess HBV serological markers. Standard operation procedure, good laboratory practice, External/Internal Quality Control were used accordingly and Quality Assurance ensued. 84.2% participants were males, 15.8% females aged between 19 and 65 years, Mean ±SD age 30.57±9.70 years, Participants from 20 states, South-South, South-East, and other Geo-political Zones of Nigeria, resident in the cosmopolitan city of Port Harcourt were enrolled. Result obtained showed serological markers among test subjects as 77.3% HBsAg, 43.97% HBsAb, 48.94% HBcAg, 36.17% HBcAb, and 46.81% HBeAg. Grouping of HBV panel assay result was HBV positive 1 (Occult HBV) 7.8% (n=11), HBV positive 2 73.76% (n=104), HBV positive 3 – (occult HBV post treatment) 14.18% (n=20), HBV positive 4 4.26% (n=6). All five serological markers of HBV in infected patients in PHC are evident in significant proportions indicating real infections at different stages of disease manifestation. Mass screening for HBV infection is recommended for our populace to check spread.

Effect of Workforce Diversity on Employee Performance in Domestic Systemically Important Banks (DSIBs) in Nigeria

The increase in diversity among employees has prompted organizations to begin to craft their human resource strategy towards better diversity management which in turn will lead to greater employee performance. This research seeks to investigate the effect of workforce diversity (age, gender and experience) on employee performance (employee engagement and employee satisfaction) in the five (5) Domestic Systemically Important Banks (DSIBs) in Nigeria. The study adopted survey research design as its methodology. Data was collected from 1881 employees in the 5 DSIBs from the six (6) geo-political zones in Nigeria using questionnaires. Regression analysis and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) – Maximum Likelihood was used for data analysis. The results showed a significant positive relationship between workforce diversity (age, gender and experience) and employee performance. The findings of this study will give guidelines on the management of workforce diversity in the Banking and financial sector towards improved employee performance. This study examines the effect of workforce diversity on employee performance in DSIBs in Nigeria which is a gap that the study sought to fill.

Prediction of Gaseous Attenuation of Satellite Signal in Nigeria

It would be noticed that the rate at which people are demanding for satellite services has drastically increased due to increment in population. However, one of the apprehensions of satellite telecommunication engineer is the effects imposed on the earth-to space path link by gaseous attenuation. The research conducted in this paper bordered about investigation with comparison of prediction models for gas attenuation in the six locations in Nigeria, with each of the location taken from six geopolitical within the country. The cities considered for the analysis are: Kaduna (), Lagos (), Abuja (), Portharcort (), Enugu () and Bauchi (). Five-year radiosonde data were used in predicting gas attenuation in the cities selected which represent the geographical characteristics of each zone. Monthly variation of tropospheric components for each zone were computed. Influence of gas attenuation at different frequency bands for each zone were analysed. The results indicated that at clear-sky scenario, gas attenuation effects are still seen on satellite communication. Therefore, this research work would provide the needed statistical data of gas attenuation which would be of tremendous advantage for the link designers for their subsequent planning and design of good telecommunication systems in the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.

Antigenotoxicity and antioxidant activities of bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina del.) accessions from different parts of Nigeria

Bitter leaf (Vernonia amygdalina Del.) plant is a tree species that is highly cultivated in Nigeria for its nutritive and therapeutic values. This study aimed to determine the antioxidant and antigenotoxicity effects (in vitro) of 52 accessions of V. amygdalina collected from six geopolitical zones of Nigeria (North East, North West, North Central, South South, East and West) by evaluating the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and nitric oxide (NO-) scavenging antioxidant activities, flavonoid and phenolic contents as well as ethidium bromide-induced DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) damage of bitter leaf. The results showed that accessions MN628016 (Oshimili South, Delta State) and MN628010 (Akoko Edo, Edo State), respectively had higher amounts of flavonoid (287.19 mg/g/FW) and phenolic (307.90 mg/g/FW) contents. The accessions MN627984 (Ikpoba Okha, Edo State) and MN627975 (Owerri, Imo State) had the highest nitric oxide (85.73%) and DPPH radical scavenging inhibitory effect (98.92%). The highest percentage fragmented DNA (45.05%), was observed in Allium cepa roots homogenised and mixed with ethidium bromide followed by the A. cepa roots homogenised and mixed with the leaf extract of V. amygdalina accession MN627977 (36.12%). However, V. amygdalina accessions MN628008 (457.62%, Warri North, Delta State) had the highest percentage increase of fragmented DNA followed by MN628024 (395.04%, Oshimili North, Delta State), MN628015 (345.54%; Aniocha North, Delta State) and MN627984 (342.04%; Ikpoba Okha, Edo State) while accession MN628010 (7.32%; Akoko Edo, Edo State) had the lowest. Accession MN628010 which possessed the highest amount of phenolic content had the lowest percentage increase of fragmented DNA and accession MN627984 which possessed the highest nitric oxide radical scavenging inhibitory effect was among the accessions with the highest percentage increase of fragmented DNA. The findings of this study suggest that the observed lowest percentage of fragmented DNA of A. cepa roots growth induced with the solution of ethidium bromide and treated with V. amygdalina accessions MN628010 extracts (antigenotoxic) could be as a result of the high antioxidant activities in the V. amygdalina accessions. In summary, the findings of this study showed that the 52 V. amygdalina accessions obtained from different locations of Nigeria will help to combat ethidium bromide induced genoxicities and any other genotoxicant that may lead to different complications in plant (A. cepa roots), as all the accessions possessed antioxidant and antigenotoxic properties, as such, possessed comparable amount of natural antioxidant activities and antigenotoxicity. Key words: Antioxidant, antigenotoxicity, bitter leaf, accessions, ethidium bromide, Allium cepa

Perspectives of Librarians on Awareness and Readiness of Academic Libraries to Integrate Artificial Intelligence for Library Operations and Services in Nigeria

This study examined the perspectives of librarians on the awareness and readiness of academic libraries to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) for library operations and services in Nigeria. Six libraries were drawn from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. An open-ended questionnaire posted to the respondents through the mail was used for data collection. Collected data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that the Nigerian academic libraries are aware of the integration of AI systems in libraries and how it is now being adopted and used in many academic libraries around the globe. However, this is not so in the Nigerian context. The findings also reveal that the librarians have mixed feelings about the readiness of academic libraries to integrate AI systems into library operations and services. Based on the librarian perception, the result implies that integration of AI in library operation and services will take the library to the next level by reducing human errors due to repetitiveness in library tasks, and if care is not taken, AI system might take their job role. The challenges reported that academic libraries in Nigeria may likely face the problem of funding, inadequate experts, limited power supply, limited budget to procure the technology and training personnel that will be in charge of the system maintenance. The study recommends the need for adequate funding for libraries to be able to procure, AI and other information and communication technology infrastructure; and recruitment of librarians with relevant requisite skills to work with the technology.

Interrelationships of organisation and E-business strategies with E-business readiness, intensity and impact in Nigerian Universities

Electronic business, which involves deploying information technologies to drive business processes, promises substantial gains for institutions like universities. However, the gains can be realized only when universities invest strategically in appropriate e-business resources and processes that sync with their institutional goals and strategies. Nigerian universities have over many years been implementing several networked information resources used to support their usual, research, teaching, administration as well as public outreach activities. However, they need to know how well such investments are helping to achieve their goals. The study adopted the Technology, Organisation and Environment framework (TOE) as its research model, while descriptive survey design was implemented to collect data. Eighteen universities were selected using stratified random sampling, this comprised one private, state and federal from each of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria, data were collected from 160 management and 90 Information Technology staff using a structured and validated questionnaire which was subjected to Pearson correlation analyses and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The correlation analyses revealed moderate positive relationship between organisational strategy (OS) and e-business strategy (ES), strong positive relationship between e-business strategy and e-business readiness (ER), moderate positive relationship between e-business readiness and e-business intensity (EI), weak positive linear relationship between e-business intensity and e-business impact (EM), and weak positive relationship between e-business impact and organisational strategy (OS). The estimated inner model of the PLS-SEM showed statistically significant path correlations between OS and ES (0.48), ES and ER (0.86), ER and EI (0.60), and EI and EM (0.43), while the hypothesised path relationship between EM and OS was negative and insignificant. The study concluded that the university management needs to better synchronize their organisational objectives and strategies with their e-business (technology) strategies to improve their e-business readiness and use the resources more intensively for greater impact on their institutional objectives.

Estimated prevalence of human papillomavirus among Nigerian women: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

HPV prevalence in Nigeria has been challenging to quantify given regional population heterogeneity and differences in diagnostic methodology. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 studies, each of which summarized HPV prevalence in women residing in six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The estimated pooled prevalence (effect size) of HPV in Nigeria was 32% (CI: 23-41%). HPV prevalence was 29% (CI: 20-39%) among studies that detected HPV by genotype. HPV prevalence among studies that used serologic detection was 38% (CI: 12-65%). When stratified by region, a study in the South East (SE) geopolitical zone reported the highest prevalence of 71% (CI: 61-80%) while a study in the South South (SS) geopolitical zone reported the lowest prevalence of 4.9% (CI: 3-9%). HPV prevalence in Nigeria was high. Heterogeneity between study regions and differing HPV detection methods both contribute to variation in estimates. Using pooled estimates serves to inform future strategies for epidemiologic surveillance and future design of HPV and cervical cancer prevention initiatives.

A comparative analysis of the chemical composition and compliance level to established standards of concrete reinforcement steel rods rolled in Nigeria

Nigeria is presently facing the challenges of collapsing buildings and bridges due to substandard materials used as reinforcement products. The increasing use of scraps as feedstock for the production of reinforcing steel bars by steel rolling mill companies has adversely affected the quality of rebars in Nigeria. This research study aimed to appraise the chemical properties of selected brands of steel rebars of Nigeria. Thirty selected brands of rebars were sourced from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, and their chemical compositions were analysed for level of compliance with five selected standards (SON, BSI, ASTM, AISI, ISO). The chemical composition test was performed using Optical Light Spectrometric methods. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was performed using SPSS version 20 to examine whether significant differences exist or not in mean chemical composition for the different categories of selected steel rods. Statistical analysis shows a significant difference (P < 0.05) in chemical composition and compliance level between the different types of selected steel rods. The imported steel rods recorded the highest mean (μ = 101.4) in terms of chemical composition and compliance, followed by locally rolled from imported billets (μ = 101.2), TMT steel rods (μ = 101.0), and ordinary steel rods (μ = 100.6). Concerning CEV1 and CEV2, it was observed that all the brands were fully compliant within the maximum permissible ranges given in the local, foreign and international standards except an ordinary steel bar of Brand 16, which has value beyond the specified limits of CEV1. This study also shows that all imported and 77.8% of locally-rolled steel bars are low-carbon steel as specified by the selected standards.

Product creativity and organisational competitiveness: Empirical evidence from Nigeria

AbstractThe study investigated product creativity and organisational competitiveness in Nigerian private organisations with a view to ascertaining the extent to which product creativity (product line, differentiation, imitation, and innovation) influences creativity and the extent to which product creativity enhances organisational competitiveness. The study employed cross‐sectional survey design, and simple random sampling served to select respondents from ten multinational companies across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria. The study employed constructs consistent with those from empirical studies and used a five‐point Likert scale for all the measures. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Results show that three out of the four constructs of creativity are significant predictors of organisational competitiveness. Thus, product line (combination), product differentiation, and product innovation significantly influence creativity, and creativity predicts organisational competitiveness. Business managers can thus enhance the competitiveness of their products through product line, differentiation, and product innovation. However, the framework of the study is not exhaustive. Future studies should attempt a framework that will integrate additional creativity constructs.

Model-Data Fit using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), and The Sample-Size-Adjusted BIC

The study determined if the 1PL, 2PL, 3PL and 4PL item response theory models best fit the data from the 2016 NECO Mathematics objective tests. Ex-post facto design was adopted for the study. The population for the study comprised 1,022,474 candidates who enrolled and sat for June/July SSCE 2016 NECO Mathematics Examination. The sample comprised 276,338 candidates who sat for the examination in three purposively Geo political zones in Nigeria (i.e., S/West, S/East and N/West). The research instruments used for the study were Optical Marks Record Sheets for the National Examination Council (NECO) June/July 2016 SSCE Mathematics objectives items. The responses of the tests were scored dichotomously. Data collected were analyzed using 2loglikelihood chi-square. The results of the likelihood ratio test revealed that 2PL fitted the data better than 1PL was statistically significant (χ2 (59) = 820636.1, p 0.05); the 2PL model fitted the data better than the 1PL model; 3PL model fitted the data better than the 2PL model and the result showed that the 4PL model fitted the data better than the 3PL model and the Likelihood ratio test that 4PL model fitted the data better than 3PL model was statistically significant, (χ2(60)=216159.2, p0.05). The study concluded that four-parameter logistic model fitted the 2016 NECO Mathematics test items.Keywords: Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), one parameter model, two parameter model, three parameter model, four parameter model.