Rejection Of Null Hypothesis Research Articles

Effect of Strategic Change on Performance of Media Firms in Nairobi Kenya

Purpose: Given the rapidly evolving media landscape in Nairobi, Kenya, which presents a unique opportunity to explore the impact of strategic change on organizational performance, this study addresses the effectiveness of various change strategies thereby offering valuable insights for media managers and policymakers striving to enhance the resilience and growth of media enterprises in Nairobi. Design/Methodology/Approach: Employing descriptive and correlational research design, the study used closed ended questionnaires with a sample of 122 departmental heads out of a target population of 176 departmental heads from 6 major media firms in Nairobi; Nation Media Group, Standard Group, Royal Media Services, Mediamax Network Limited, Radio Africa Group and Capital Group Limited. The departmental heads for editorial, technical, sales and marketing, administrative and public relations formed the target and sample. Simple random sampling and stratified sampling techniques were adopted. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Data was presented using tables. Findings: Strategic Change significantly affected performance in media firms P 0.00<0.05. This suggests that strategic change variables had a significant effect on performance of media firms hence rejection of null hypothesis. Implications/Originality/Value: The study recommends that media firms should adopt a systematic change management strategy to facilitate seamless transitions and cultivate leadership abilities at all levels to enable leaders to proficiently initiate and oversee changes.

NON-OPERATING PROFITS IN THE BRAZILIAN HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR: INTERFERENCE IN DIVIDEND POLICY?

The aim of this work is to seek a correlation between non-operating profits and the dividend distribution policy by publicly traded companies in the Brazilian education sector through their respective payouts. Publicly traded companies listed on the B3 education sector were selected and analyzed with the other companies listed on the B3 and among them. The time period covered was from January 2, 2017 to December 31, 2020. The variables studied were: payout and non-operating gross profit, in addition to yield and share price variation. The results of this study, by showing that publicly traded companies in the educational sector have higher non-operating profits than other companies listed on B3, can be justified by asset sales, given the mergers and acquisitions in the sector. Furthermore, this realignment could also justify the intra-sector analysis, where the payout of these companies was lower in those where the non-operating profit was higher. These results, in addition to expressing the rejection of null hypotheses, show how similar private higher education companies have become to other publicly traded companies registered at B3 in terms of payout, yield and share price variation. This may show that university autonomy also meant the commodification of education.

Effect of Advertising Strategy on Performance of Construction Material Manufacturing Firms in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

The construction material manufacturing firms plays a major role in the Kenyan economy, and understanding the effectiveness of advertising strategies is crucial for sustaining growth and competitiveness. The purpose of study was to examine the effect of advertising on performance of construction material manufacturing firms. The study was guided by Action interest desire action theory. The study employed both descriptive and causal research design. The study targeted 10 registered construction material manufacturing firms in Uasin Gishu with 124 employees. Simple random technique was used to select 95 employees. Primary data was gathered through structured questionnaires with key industry stakeholders, while secondary data was sourced from relevant literature and industry reports. Data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics incorporated both the mean and standard deviation. Inferential was based on correlation and regression analysis. Advertising strategy had a significant of 0.565, t=6.847 and 0.00 significance level indicating that advertising strategy had a positive and significant relationship therefore leading to rejection of null hypothesis. The research contributed valuable insights to the construction material manufacturing firms in Uasin Gishu County, assisting firms in optimizing their advertising strategies to achieve sustainable growth and improved performance in a competitive market environment. The study underscores the need for firms to adapt to changing market dynamics and consumer preferences through innovative and tailored advertising approaches.

Trial- vs. cycle-level detrending in the analysis of cyclical biomechanical data

Biomechanical time series may contain low-frequency trends due to factors like electromechanical drift, attentional drift and fatigue. Existing detrending procedures are predominantly conducted at the trial level, removing trends that exist over finite, adjacent time windows, but this fails to consider what we term ‘cycle-level trends’: trends that occur in cyclical movements like gait and that vary across the movement cycle, for example: positive and negative drifts in early and late gait phases, respectively. The purposes of this study were to describe cycle-level detrending and to investigate the frequencies with which cycle-level trends (i) exist, and (ii) statistically affect results. Anterioposterior ground reaction forces (GRF) from the 41-subject, 8-speed, open treadmill walking dataset of Fukuchi (2018) were analyzed. Of a total of 552 analyzed trials, significant cycle-level trends were found approximately three times more frequently (21.1%) than significant trial-level trends (7.4%). In statistical comparisons of adjacent walking speeds (i.e., speed 1 vs. 2, 2 vs. 3, etc.) just 3.3% of trials exhibited cycle-level trends that changed the null hypothesis rejection decision. However 17.6% of trials exhibited cycle-level trends that qualitatively changed the stance phase regions identified as significant. Although these results are preliminary and derived from just one dataset, results suggest that cycle-level trends can contribute to analysis bias, and therefore that cycle-level trends should be considered and/or removed where possible. Software implementing the proposed cycle-level detrending is available at https://github.com/0todd0000/detrend1d.

Teacher’s Burnout and Perceived Self-Efficacy as Predictors to Classroom Management: A Quantitative Inquiry

This study dealt with the influence of Teacher’s Burnout and Perceived Self-Efficacy to Classroom Management among High School Teachers in Mawab, Davao de Oro. The primary goal of this study was to determine the level of teacher’s burnout and perceived self-efficacy to classroom management in terms of their respected indicators, the significant difference between burnout and perceived self-efficacy to classroom management, and what domains of burnout and perceived self-efficacy substantially influence classroom management. Also this study utilized a quantitative-correlational design with 113 respondents among teachers in three chosen High Schools’ in Mawab, Davao de Oro. The average weighted mean, Pearson-R, and Multiple Regression analysis were the statistical tools used in this study. Along with this, result showed a low level of burnout among teachers in terms of coping with job-related stress, attitude towards students, and perceived administrative support, and very low level in terms of career satisfaction. In another independent variable which was perceived self-efficacy, it showed a very high level in terms of instructional self-efficacy, efficacy to create positive school climate, and efficacy to enlist parental involvement, while efficacy to influence decision making, and disciplinary self-efficacy got a high level. Likewise, the result showed a very high levels in every indicator of classroom management. Additionally, only perceived self-efficacy had moderate correlation towards classroom management, while teacher’s burnout got a negligible correlation. Hence, this led to the rejection of null hypothesis in terms of perceived self-efficacy and not rejecting the null hypothesis in terms of teacher’s burnout. Also all domains of teacher’s burnout had low ratings and perceived self-efficacy as most perceived by teachers. This meant that teachers were showing lower levels of burnout and higher levels of perceived self-efficacy which led them to have an effective classroom management. This result led the teachers to be aware that having a self-efficacy is very important to lessen their burnout in managing their classrooms.

The Relationship of Teaching Strategies and Self-Concept on Students’ Engagement in Learning: A Quantitative Investigation

This study dealt with the influence of Teaching Strategies and Teacher’s Self-Concept to Students’ Engagement in learning among High School Teachers in Mawab, Davao de Oro. The primary goal of this study was to determine the level of teaching strategies and teachers’ self-concept to students’ engagement in learning in terms of their respected indicators, the significant difference between teaching strategies and teachers’ self-concept to students’ engagement in learning, and what domains of teaching strategies and teachers’ self-concept substantially influence students’ engagement in learning. Also this study utilized a quantitative-correlational design with 113 respondents among teachers in three chosen High schools’ in Mawab, Davao de Oro. The average weighted mean, Pearson-R, and multiple regression analysis were the statistical tool used in this study. Along with this, the result of the study revealed that the first independent variable which is the teaching strategies got an overall level of moderate, within its indicator; critical thinking, creativity, social skills and ICT skills, got a very high level. On the other hand, the second independent variable which is teachers’ self-concept got an overall level of very high, within its indicators; values, beliefs, student-centered approach and teacher-centered approach all got a high level. On the other hand, the dependent variable, affective engagement, behavioral engagement and cognitive engagement also got a very high level. Additionally, teaching strategies had moderate correlation towards students’ engagement in learning, while teacher’s self-concept got a high correlation towards students’ engagement in learning. Hence, this led to the rejection of null hypothesis in terms of teaching strategies and teachers’ self-concept. Also, in terms of Regression of teaching strategies, critical thinking, social skills, and ICT skills were domains that significantly influencing students’ engagement in learning, whilst, the regression of teacher’s self-concept revealed that, values, beliefs, and student-centered approach were domains that significantly influencing students’ engagement in learning. Thus, the teacher may continue to use the teaching strategies by providing students engagement in their learning and students may also engage by the teachers’ self-concept to make better progress and improve their learning for students and teaching for teachers.

Exploring cross-cultural and gender differences in facial expressions: a skin tone analysis using RGB Values

Facial expressions serve as crucial indicators of an individual's psychological state, playing a pivotal role in face-to-face communication. This research focuses on advancing collaboration between machines and humans by undertaking a thorough investigation into facial expressions. Specifically, we delve into the analysis of emotional variations related to changes in skin tone across different genders and cultural backgrounds (Black and white). The research methodology is structured across three phases. In Phase I, image data is acquired and meticulously processed from the Chicago face dataset, resulting in 12,402 augmented images across five classes (Normal case, Benign case, Adenocarcinoma, Squamous-cell-carcinoma, Large-cell-carcinoma). Phase II involves the identification of Regions of Interest (ROI) and the extraction of RGB values as features from these ROIs. Various methods, including those proposed by Kovac, Swift, and Saleh, are employed for precise skin identification. The final phase, Phase III, centers on the in-depth analysis of emotions and presents the research findings. Statistical techniques, such as Descriptive statistics, independent sample T-tests for gender and cross-cultural comparisons, and two-way ANOVA, are applied to RED, BLUE, and GREEN pixel values as response variables, with gender and emotions as explanatory variables. The rejection of null hypotheses prompts a Post Hoc test to discern significant pairs of means. The results indicate that both cross-cultural backgrounds and gender significantly influence pixel colors, underscoring the impact of different localities on pixel coloration. Across various expressions, our results exhibit a minimal 0.05% error rate in all classifications. Notably, the study reveals that green pixel color does not exhibit a significant difference between Anger and Neutral emotions, suggesting a near-identical appearance for green pixels in these emotional states. These findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of the intricate relationship between facial expressions, gender, and cultural backgrounds, providing valuable insights for future research in human–machine interaction and emotion recognition.

The Convergence Dynamics of Per Capita International Tourist Arrivals

ABSTRACT The study highlights the importance of comovements in tests of stochastic convergence in per capita international tourist arrivals for a large multi-country panel. LM unit root tests with allowance for comovements and structural breaks reveals a significant reduction in the number of rejections of the unit root null hypothesis when compared to LM unit root tests without comovements. Additional analysis allowing for Fourier gradual breaks confirms our findings of limited evidence of stochastic convergence. Upon further examination of convergence clubs, we identify four convergence clusters for per capita international tourist arrivals distinguished by whether a country is considered a small island economy.

Immobilization, Lymphedema, and Obesity are Predictive Factors in the Development of Adhesive Capsulitis in Breast Cancer Patients.

Adhesive capsulitis is a condition characterized by shoulder pain and stiffness. Breast cancer treatment has been linked to the development of this condition, but its mechanisms are still little known. This study's objective was to identify predictors factors associated with the development of adhesive capsulitis in breast cancer patients. A case control study was performed with women undergoing treatment for breast cancer in a single center. The sampling was nonprobabilistic and consecutive. Adhesive capsulitis was defined as constant pain associated with decreased active and passive shoulder movement in anterior elevation, external rotation at 0°/90° abduction, and internal rotation at 90° abduction. The study group consisted of patients with shoulder pain and range of motion limitations, while the control group consisted of women without any shoulder abnormalities. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected. A univariate logistic regression was used to assess the influence of variables on the studied outcome. For p < 0.20, a multivariate logistic regression was used. The probability of null hypothesis rejection was 5%. A total of 145 women were assessed, with 39 (26.9%) on the study group and 106 (73.1%) on the control group. The majority was under 60 years old. In the multivariate analysis, variables correlated to the outcome under study were shoulder immobilization (OR = 3.09; 95% CI: 1.33-7.18; p = 0.009), lymphedema (OR = 5.09; 95% CI: 1.81-14.35; p = 0.002), and obesity (OR = 3.91; 95% CI: 1.27-12.01; p = 0.017). Lymphedema, postsurgery immobilization, and obesity are predictive factors for the development of adhesive capsulitis in breast cancer patients.

Comparative evaluation of microbial activity in the decomposition of organic matter from solid household waste in Guayaquil

The escalating global population and subsequent rise in consumerism underscore the critical need for proper solid waste management, with a specific focus on the daily disposal of organic waste. Inadequate waste management poses direct threats to public health, as uncontrolled fermentation provides a fertile ground for bacterial growth. This study explores the efficacy of employing Microorganisms, specifically comparing Trichoderma to a Microbial Biocatalyst, for the treatment of daily solid organic waste (D.S.O.W.). Following Falconi's (2013a) methodology for the capture, multiplication, and conidial count of microorganisms, a pilot study utilizing a Bioreactor was conducted. The statistical analysis of parameters such as Humidity, Weight, pH leachates, Temperature, Time, and Volume, with corresponding ANOVA significance levels, resulted in the rejection of null hypotheses for most parameters, except pH m.o. The capture and multiplication of Trichoderma spp. microorganisms reached a count 7.6×109 /ml. Treatment 6 (T6) emerged as more effective and efficient in decomposing organic matter (OM), exhibiting distinct stages of psychrophilic, mesophilic (3 days), thermophilic (6 days), psychrophilic (3 days), and cooling (3 days), culminating in the decomposition of OM in 15 days within the bioreactor. The results validate the working hypothesis, affirming the potential of Microorganisms, especially Trichoderma, in enhancing the treatment of daily solid organic waste.

Effect of Cooperative Mastery Learning Approach on Secondary School Students Achievement based on Gender in Kirinyaga County, Kenya

Through the study of Physics, technological advancement promoting standard of living, creation of wealth, health and industrialization has been realized. The Kenyan government has put much effort to reduce gender disparity in achievement in physics in secondary schools. However, and despite these efforts, the desired outputs have not been realized. Though a number of factors may be responsible for this prevailing situation in secondary schools in Kenya, it is envisaged that inappropriate teaching approaches used in teaching physics contribute to gender disparity in achievement in physics. While cooperative mastery learning approach has been shown to reduce gender disparity in other science subjects’ studies addressing the effect of cooperative mastery learning approach towards student’s achievement in Physics based on gender are inadequate. Hence this study investigated the effects of Cooperative Mastery Learning Approach on secondary school students’ achievement in Physics based on gender in Kirinyaga County. Solomon’s four quasi experimental group design was used. The target population was 5850 form two Physics students in the secondary schools in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. A sample of 180 respondents was obtained from the population. Simple random sampling was used to draw the participating four schools from the purposively selected Sub-county schools. The assignment of selected schools to either experimental or control group was done by simple random sampling. The research instrument that was used was physics Achievement Test (PAT). The Reliability was tested by subjecting the instrument to a pilot study in a school in Embu County. Reliability coefficient for Physics Achievement Test was 0.798. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 was used for data analysis. The raw data obtained was analyzed descriptively using Mean, Standard deviation, percentages and inferentially using parametric tests (one-way ANOVA, t-test and Posthoc Analysis). The level of significance for acceptance or rejection of null hypotheses was at α = 0.05. The study established that cooperative mastery learning approach enhances students’ academic achievement in Physics for both genders. Further the study findings show that there was no statistical significance difference in student achievement in physics based on gender. From the findings of the study cooperative mastery learning approach is effective in improving student achievement in Physics for both boys and girls. Therefore, Physics teachers should incorporate cooperative mastery learning approach in teaching in order to reduce gender disparity in students’ achievement in Physics.

THE ROLE OF A CLEAN MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS PLANNING (MRP) SYSTEM IN REDUCING ENVIRONMENTAL WASTE (EXPLORATORY STUDY IN KUT TEXTILE AND KNITTING FACTORY)

The aim of this research is to shed light on the concept of the clean MRP system in the industrial organizations operating in Iraq, including the Kut textile and knitting factory of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, and to correct the views on the importance of MRP by presenting the clean MRP system, which is a tool of sub-systems aimed at operational planning, identifying the concept of environmental waste, defining its dimensions, and the commitment of the factory management to its indicators. The exploratory study methodology was adopted for research and the questionnaire tool was used in the study method to analyze the opinions of the research sample regarding the clean (MRP). Through the use of some statistical methods in the analysis. The research hypotheses were tested, which stated that there is no statistically significant correlation and the absence of a significant effect between the material needs planning system and environmental waste dimensions. The most prominent conclusions that were reached are the rejection of null hypotheses and the acceptance of alternative hypotheses regarding the existence of a statistically significant correlation between the clean (MRP) system and the dimensions of environmental waste. Among the most prominent recommendations Research, The factory management must identify strengths and weaknesses in its activity in order to make great use of modern production control systems, including the clean MRP system, and identify weaknesses and address them in order to reach optimal performance.

Errors

When we compare study group/s with a control group in a research, there can be ‘errors’. Error is the difference between the ‘fact’ and our ‘finding’. In other words, error is the distortion in ‘population parameter’ when compared to the ‘true value’. Difference between the ‘fact’ and our ‘finding’ can be due to three reasons Actual difference between groups Bias (Synonyms - systematic errors, non-sampling errors) Random (Synonyms- by chance error, nonsystematic errors, sampling error, noises) Random error Difference between the ‘fact’ and our ‘finding’ is purely due to ‘chance’ alone. Random error is non directional and will average out in repeated samples (result in some samples will show overestimation and in some samples show underestimation). Whenever we study a sample (which we normally do), random errors will invariably creep in. Random error will be ‘zero or minimal’ only when we study the entire population. As sample size increases random error decreases and hence reliability (precision) of the research increases. Reliability (precision) simply means repeatability of the measurements we make, that is, repeated researches under the similar conditions give identical results. Reliability doesn’t guarantee accuracy (validity) of the measurements though it’s a pre-requirement of validity. Bias Any error introduced into the study for which a cause can be identified is called as bias. Result of the research will show repeated overestimation or underestimation indicating a directional and systematic difference from the true value. Bias is considered ‘directional’ because the result will not average out in repeated samples (result in every sample will be either over or under estimation). Validity of the study will decrease if the bias is more. Validity is the ability of the research to measure what it is intended to measure. A research is valid only if its result corresponds to the truth. Bias has nothing to do with the sample size. Strong study design and adherence to the research protocol will help to reduce the bias. David L Sacket identified 19 bias and later Bernard Choi extended the list to 65. Even though both words are considered synonyms there are some non-sampling errors other than bias. Wrong instrument for measurement, improper variable definition etc fall in that list. Type 1 (α) and Type II (β) errors In αerror, a true null hypothesis will be rejected. It is also called ‘false positive error’ because we have proved some association which truly is not there. Normally in medical/dental research, maximum permissible level of α error is 5% (chance that observed difference due to chance/sampling error is less than 5% OR probability of incorrectly rejecting the null hypothesis is less than/equal to 5%). αlevel of significance is set by the researcher before the statistic is computed. Once the null hypothesis is rejected, the only error possible is ‘α’. In βerror, a false null hypothesis will be accepted. It is also called ‘a false negative error’ because our research did not identify an association which in fact is existing. Probability of committing Type II is called βand is usually kept bellow 20%. If null hypothesis is not rejected, the only error possible is β. Whenever null hypothesis not rejected, the researcher should address level of βerror and power. Power (1-β) is the ability to reduce βerror and it is the probability that a false null hypothesis is correctly rejected. Non rejection of null hypothesis can also be because of low power of the study.

VICINITY CONDITION OF ONLINE EXAMINATION: DOES IT AFFECT THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCES OF PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDENTS?

Physical attendance of students in a hall for examinations is no longer being practiced during the global pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Most universities, including Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) have adapted to online exams. This paper presents an analysis of online final examination performances of 251 students from the Science and Medicine Foundation Centre, UniSZA who completed foundation for 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 sessions. The objective of this research is to compare the final scores of Semester 2 for the students from both sessions to see if there is a significant difference between the two, based on subjects of Mathematics II, Physics II, Chemistry II, Biology II and Information Technology II. Students were taking online exams at home and university’s accommodation for the students from the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 session intakes, respectively. The statistical analysis was performed by comparing two means to attain standard deviation via the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The P-value for each test is calculated to lead to rejection of null hypothesis, which is less than 0.05. The results revealed that the p-value for all subjects is less than 0.001, implying that the probability value for all subjects is less than the significance level at 0.05, which is 1.6449. As a result, the null hypothesis is rejected for all five subjects, supporting the research hypothesis. It was concluded that the performances of the students from the 2019/2020 session obtained a higher score than the performances of the students from the 2020/2021 session.

Effectiveness of Localized English Reading Materials in Enhancing the Reading Skills of the Grade two Pupils

Students today are 21st-century learners who prefer digitization and reading is not their top priority, teachers at the same time should meet the needs of these students. English teachers, specifically in reading skills, should have the capability and knowledge to craft methods to use in dealing with students who have difficulty with reading. This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of localized english reading materials in enhancing the reading skills of grade two pupils. The reading skills of the pupils in this research were determined through match pairing. The participants came from the total population of 32 pupils from section orange in grade two, who were grouped into two through match pairing based on their pretest results. There was 16 match paired pupil-participants included in this study. These pupil-participants were the advisees of the researcher for the school year 2021-2022 in modular distance learning. Another group of respondents were the 20 teacher-validators who assessed the crafted localized reading materials using the survey questionnaire. The pretest showed that both groups are at the beginning level in terms of their reading skills. The findings of this study indicated that the experimental group got much higher mean scores than the comparison group on their formative and post-test. The computed t-values for lesson 1 gained a t-value of 2.368, lesson 2 with a t-value of 2.885; lesson 3 with a t value of 5.085; and lesson 4 having a t-value of 8.259 showed extremely significant differences between the formative means scores of the participants. A similar result found a highly significant difference between the post-test mean scores performance of the experimental group and the comparison group with a t-value of 3.966 and a p-value less than 0.01 level of significance. All results indicated the rejection of null hypotheses and acceptance of alternative ones. These findings implied that teachers must use tactics and practices such as learning by doing, manipulative, and practical learning to integrate localization and contextualization into the teaching-learning process.&#x0D; Keywords: localized English reading materials, reading skills, teaching-learning process

Stock Market Efficiency in Asia: Evidence from the Narayan–Liu–Westerlund's GARCH‐based unit root test

AbstractStock market integration with efficiency is important in finance. This study therefore analyses the stock market efficiency in Vietnam and other Asian countries by using the recently developed Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (GARCH)‐based unit root test of Narayan et al. to examine the stock market efficiency of Vietnam and other 18 Asian countries, using daily prices. Particularly, we examine weather stock market prices in these countries reflects all available information. The model flexibly accounts for heteroskedasticity and two structural breaks, the presence of which can lead to inaccurate results if neglected. Our results disclose the stock markets of 14 countries as inefficient following the rejection of the unit root null hypothesis. However, the stock markets of China, Hong Kong, Japan, and the Korea Republic are adjudged efficient. We further extend the model to accommodate a maximum of five breaks to check the robustness of our results to higher breaks. We observe that the results are largely consistent except for Lebanon and Singapore. For completeness, we compare the results with those of conventional GARCH models that do not account for structural breaks and discover differing results for some countries. Hence, the role of structural breaks is not negligible in assessing market efficiency. Future studies should also incorporate heteroskedasticity and structural breaks in their modelling framework to obtain accurate results.

An exact test for equality of two normal mean vectors with monotone missing data

The problem of testing equality of two normal mean vectors with incomplete data when the covariance matrices are equal is considered. For data matrices with monotone missing pattern, an exact test is proposed as an alternative one to the traditional likelihood ration test. Numerical power comparisons show that the powers of the proposed test and the likelihood ration test are comparable. However, the proposed test is an exact one. It is easy to use and useful to identify the component that caused the rejection of null hypothesis. It is illustrated using an example.

Computational Analysis of Average Waiting and Arrival Times

Over the years, the drift from public to private schools has overwhelmed parents' and guardians' imagination due to teachers' and pupils' waiting times and the influence of parents in private and public schools. The government has also slowed parental emotions to send their children to public schools due to the lack of basic teaching tools, well-trained teachers, and vital infrastructure in many states in Nigeria. As a result, private individuals with inadequate educational management backgrounds started establishing schools as a business concern without proper regulations on teachers' recruitment, vital and basic school facilities. The proliferation of substandard private and public schools has led to waiting time problems. This article describes novel computational procedures to compute the average waiting and arrival time. The procedures investigate teachers and pupils' average arrival and waiting times for public and private primary schools in each class in a local government area in Delta State, Nigeria. A simple random sampling procedure was applied. The study intends to determine whether the mean waiting or arrival time of teachers and pupils for each class for the period under review is equal. The data set was subjected to further mean analysis and analysis of variance. The F statistic was obtained and compared with the F critical value, which resulted in the rejection of the null hypothesis at a 5% level of significance. The analysis indicated that the average waiting time for teachers' arrival in each class is not equal and the average waiting time for pupils' arrival is not equal, hence the null hypothesis's rejection. The study revealed that the average waiting time for public and private school pupils in the schools investigated is 17 minutes. In comparison, the average waiting time of teachers for both public and private schools is approximately 6 minutes. This study affirmed that waiting time problems exist in public and private schools.

Sex and age differences in compliance to physician recommendations by surgical patients

Purpose of the study: analysis of the correlation between the attitude toward compliance with physician's recommendations by surgical patients and their sex and age characteristics. Materials and Methods. Primary data were obtained by questionnaire study of 400 surgical inpatients. Four age comparison groups (18–29 years, 30–44 years, 45–59 years, 60 years and older) among men and women were formed. Significance of differences was determined by comparing the χ 2 value obtained in the tetrachoric analysis with the tabulated value for the bilateral distribution. Differences with the 95% probability of null hypothesis rejection were considered significant. Results. Most surgical patients surveyed according to their subjective perception followed the physician's recommendations (75 and 77 out of 100 male and female respondents, respectively), more frequently at a younger age, whereas after 45 years, adherence to the physician's recommendations declined and the proportion of those who were more critical of them increased, which was manifested in their selective implementation. Patients are much less likely to comply with the recommendations to observe the principles of a healthy lifestyle. With increasing age, the share of men who always comply with the principles of a healthy lifestyle decreases, while for women it remains at the same level. As a result, "strict" and "clearly" formulated recommendations are followed more often by patients, and no gender differences are observed in this aspect. More general recommendations (principles of healthy lifestyle) are more often implemented selectively, that is, when they are considered necessary and necessary, and with increasing age the proportion of such attitude among men increases, while among women it remains stable in all age groups. Dependence analysis showed that compliance with the doctor's recommendations in full by the patient regardless of gender did not guarantee his efforts to maintain his own health sufficiently (p &gt; 0,05) or the absence of bad habits (p &gt; 0,05). There was also no correlation between the presence of bad habits and the subjective perception of the sufficiency of efforts to maintain one's own health (p &gt; 0.05).

Community Policing and COVID-19 Safety Precautions: An Explanatory Study of Agbopa in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

Community policing means synergy between members of the public and police institutions to fight crimes. This could be deployed to address coronavirus pandemic that is currently threatening global peace and security. There are a number of safety precautions that are put in place to stem the spread of the deadly virus. One of the challenges of these measures is poor compliance. This leads to contact with the disease thereby putting pressure on scanty health facilities, crisis at the family level due to loss of breadwinners and loved ones. Hence, this paper assesses the role of community policing in enforcing COVID-19 safety precautions in a bid to mitigate the health emergency. The study adopts mixed research methods; data were sourced secondarily through the content analysis of peer-reviewed journals, edited text-books and online resources. The primary data were gotten by administering questionnaires on 364 respondents. Taro Yamane formula was used in arriving the sample size from the total population of 4,000 people. Frequency counts and correlation were used in primary data analysis. The two hypotheses tested led to rejection of null hypotheses and acceptance of alternative hypothesis. The test statistics are (P= 0.000, R= 0.144, 5%), (P=0.00. R= 0.098, 5%). Findings revealed that community policing approach significantly enhanced wearing of face masks, social distance in the schools, worship centres and during transportation. The study recommends effective collaborations among people at the grassroots to end COVID-19 pandemic. The paper will be useful to individuals, Community Development Associations, National Centre for Disease Control and other stakeholders.