Accelerating Discovery
Academic Journals accelerates the dissemination of knowledge through the publication of high quality research articles using the open access model.
Academic Journals accelerates the dissemination of knowledge through the publication of high quality research articles using the open access model.
Comparative analysis of psychometric properties of mathematics items constructed by Waec and Neco in Nigeria using item response theory approach
January 2020 - Vol 15 Num. 1
West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) are the two major examination bodies saddled with the responsibility of awarding Senior Secondary School Certificate in Nigeria. This study examined the comparability of the psychometric properties of the items constructed by the two...
The relationship between teacher self-efficacy beliefs and educational beliefs of pre-service teachers
January 2020 - Vol 15 Num. 1
The purpose of this research is to determine the relationship between ‘educational beliefs’ and ‘teacher self-efficacy perceptions’ of pre-service teachers in the faculty of education. A total of 1002 pre-service teachers, 463 final year undergraduate and 539 certificate program students,...
Enhancing students’ academic performance in Chemistry by using kitchen resources in Ikom, Calabar
January 2020 - Vol 15 Num. 1
This paper seeks to investigate how students’ performance in Chemistry can be enhanced by using kitchen resources in Calabar. The kitchen resources used included a piece of white paper, a swab, lemon juice and candle. These were used to show that paper cellulose was oxidized by flame due to the catalysis of lemon...
Agro-ecological assessment of physico-chemical properties of soils in Kulfo Watershed, South Western Ethiopia
January 2020 - Vol 14 Num. 1
Variation in physical landscape of the highlands gives rise to variations in agro-climatic and soil parent materials in Ethiopia. The aim of this research is to characterize the physio-chemical properties of soils in Kulfo watershed. For the study, primary data from transect walks, composite soil samples and GPS points...
Management of world energy resources (Renewable energy): Choices for the future?
January 2020 - Vol 14 Num. 1
Energy enables technical innovations, and progress in health, agriculture and transportation. Socio-economic development and energy production are linked, although some energy-rich countries are poor. Developed countries are the biggest consumers. Energy consumption increases with increase in world population. Fossil...
Design and construction of fixed dome digester for biogas production using cow dung and water hyacinth
January 2020 - Vol 14 Num. 1
Engineered biological systems used for resource recovery often utilize anaerobic digestion to treat organic wastes by reclaiming the carbon as energy (methane gas) and a soil amendment (biosolids). This study explored the production of biogas from co-digestion of cow dung waste and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)...
Phenotypes, production systems and reproductive performance of indigenous chickens in contemporary Rwanda
December 2019 - Vol 10 Num. 10
This study aimed at characterizing phenotypes, production systems and the reproductive performance of indigenous chickens in Rwanda. Indigenous chickens (n=529) from 265 chicken rearing households drawn from all the five provinces of Rwanda were used in this study and analysis was performed using Statistical Analysis...
Increasing participatory space in Zimbabwean local governance democracy
December 2019 - Vol 11 Num. 7
The purpose of this paper is to unpack the extent to which citizen participation has been enhanced in local governance in Zimbabwe. The paper points out that citizen participation in local governance have proved to be of significance to all decision-making processes. Legislative provisions guiding citizen participation in...
Home truths behind closed doors: Reciting the lived experiences of child domestic workers in selected towns of Gedeo Zone, Southern Ethiopia
October-December 2019 - Vol 11 Num. 5
This qualitative study was aimed at looking into the lived experiences of child domestic workers in the selected towns of Gedeo Zone. A triangulation of key informant interviews, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, informal conversations, non-participant observations, and life histories were employed to collect...
Understanding internal control environment in view of curbing fraud in public healthcare unit
December 2019 - Vol 13 Num. 18
This study extends on the phenomena of control environment of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Brazil through narratives of physicians, nurses and auditors and also analyzes the results with interpretative discourse analysis. The structuration theory based on Giddens and discourse analysis toeing Laclau and Laclau and...
The role of market learning in the market integration of African smallholders
December 2019 - Vol 13 Num. 18
The integration of smallholders with the market is essential to provide enough food for the growing populations in most African countries. The existing literature emphasizes in that respect the role of transaction costs. This paper offers a complementary view, namely individual-level market learning, which is conceptually...
Comparative migration studies of Burmese, Cambodian and Laotian migrants in Thailand: Multivariate approach
October-December 2019 - Vol 11 Num. 7
The paper outlines main economics factors determining migrant workers to Thailand, and the comparative studies between migrants, that are Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. This research is quantitative in nature using logistic regression analysis. The results indicate demand on migration of Burmese migrants’ relevance to...
Uganda and the refugee problem: challenges and opportunities
October-December 2019 - Vol 13 Num. 5
Uganda is one of the top refugee hosting countries in Africa and the world. It has been praised as a generous country with progressive refugee policies and laws that reflect the country’s national, regional and international obligations. However, a number of challenges ranging from increasing refugee numbers,...
Logistic regression analysis on factors influencing income-poverty among smallholder French bean farmers in Kirinyaga County, Kenya
December 2019 - Vol 11 Num. 12
The study determined factors affecting income-poverty among French bean farmers in Kirinyaga County, Kenya. Results show that 72.6% of French bean farmers were poor. Relative to the poor households, non-poor had the highest net French bean income per acre (KES. 24,133), total net crop income (KES. 150,608), total net...
Molecular characterization of some brinjal genotypes (Solanum melongena L) using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers
December, 2019 - Vol 14 Num. 35
To analyze genetic variability of 48 brinjal genotypes by Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers, four primers named smSSR01, smSSR03, smSSR11 and smSSR14 were selected for analyze the data. Four primers generated clear bands and a total of 44 alleles were detected among the 48 brinjal genotypes (9.0 to 14.0 alleles per...
Milk production, marketing practices and qualities along milk supply chains of Haramaya District, Ethiopia
December, 2019 - Vol 14 Num. 35
A study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the physicochemical properties and microbial qualities of raw cow’s milk along the milk supply chain in Haramaya district. A total of 123 smallholder dairy producers, one dairy cooperative, 3 milk collectors, 6 milk retailers, 8 selling points and 18 consumers were...
Evaluation of cocoa mirid (Distantiella theobroma Dist. and Sahlbergella singularis Hagl.) control practices in Côte d’Ivoire
December, 2019 - Vol 14 Num. 35
Rapid pod damage evaluations were performed in four cocoa producing regions in Côte d’Ivoire to assess the severity and regional variability of the mirid pest problem. We further tested the impact of three insecticide products at two different dosages, applied at two different periods on cocoa pod production...
Appropriate fertilizer (NPK) rates for cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) production in the humid forest agro-ecological zone of Cameroon
December, 2019 - Vol 14 Num. 35
The objective of this study was to test for appropriate quantity of fertilizer (NPK 12-11-18) required to boost the production of cassava (variety TME 419) in the forest zone of Cameroon. The trial was conducted at the experimental farm of the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) in Mbalmayo. The...
Effects of fungicide treatments against Anthracnose in Calabrian (southern Italy) Olive Orchards during 2014-2015
December, 2019 - Vol 14 Num. 35
In recent years, severe natural olive anthracnose infections have been observed in orchards of Southern and Central Italy, favoured by mild and rainy seasonal trends, making disease control with the sole use of copper fungicides difficult. Besides, European restrictions in the use of copper compounds for eco-toxicological...
Effects of probiotic-treated rice straw on blood parameters and gut microbes of heifers
December, 2019 - Vol 14 Num. 35
The study investigated the effects of probiotic treatment on nutrient content of rice straw and its impact on blood parameters and gut microbes of heifers. Eight Holstein crossbred heifers with initial average body weight (BW) of 180.25±21 kg were used in this study. The experimental period lasted for 33 days of...
