Seasonal Assessment of some Trace Metals and Physico-chemical Variables from Poultry Farms Surface Soils in Osun State, Southwestern Nigeria (Published)
This study was conducted to assess the seasonal variations of arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron, lead and zinc and some physico-chemical variables of surface soils sampled from some poultry farms. This was with the view to evaluating the ecological impact of these agricultural farms on the farmlands within their vicinity. The physico-chemical variables were determined using standard methods, while metal concentrations were done with Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer following wet acid digestion. Quality control procedures included blank determination, recovery analysis and calibration of standards. Descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted for data interpretations. The concentration of metals (µg/g) gave the ranges: 87.51-1276.75 As, 0.03-2.03 Cd, 12.91-42.97 Cu, 59.07-699.47 Fe, 6.13-82.96 Pb and 23.74-202.27 Zn, with a variation pattern in sequence: As ˃ Fe ˃ Zn ˃ Pb ˃ Cu ˃ Cd in both seasons. Major spatial differences in concentrations were observed for all physico-chemical variables in every part of the sampling locations. With the exception of Arsenic, the degree of pollution varied with, by values that were far below the maximum tolerable limits specified by Food and Agriculture Organisation and World Health Organisation for agricultural soils
Keywords: Osun State, Surface soil, Trace Metals, physico-chemical variables, poultry farms
Statistical Survey of Waste Management in Osun State, Nigeria: Binary Logistics Approach. (Published)
This research work is in line with the strategic priorities of environment management agencies, and has the potentials to assist the organization in their effort to ensure the efficient management of solid and liquid waste in the City of Osogbo. With a view of providing empirical data information with respect to the causative factors responsible for the visible environmental pollution by wastes and materials from food outlets. Data was gathered from a representative sample of 332 food outlets on socio-economics demographic, environmental, sanitary and health related variables that are related to waste analysis was performed using statistical procedures such as frequency tables, pearson’s chi-square tests of association and binary logistic regression analysis in the statistical package STATA version 10. Odds rations estimated from logistic regression analysis were used for identifying key factors that affect efficiency in the proper disposal of waste. Results obtained showed that 18% of the 332 food outlets in the study were generally inefficient in waste disposal. Based on odds rations estimated from binary logistic regression analysis, wrong perception (a factor of 10.88), failure to provide trash cans to customers (a factor of 3.15), the operation of food outlets by non-owners of managers (a factor of 2.33), factors that affect the proper management of waste at the 332 food outlets in the study.
Keywords: Binary Logistic Regression, Osun State, Waste Management, Waste.
Statistical Survey of Waste Management in Osun State, Nigeria: Binary Logistics Approach (Published)
This research work is in line with the strategic priorities of environment management agencies, and has the potentials to assist the organization in their effort to ensure the efficient management of solid and liquid waste in the City of Osogbo. With a view of providing empirical data information with respect to the causative factors responsible for the visible environmental pollution by wastes and materials from food outlets. Data was gathered from a representative sample of 332 food outlets on socio-economics demographic, environmental, sanitary and health related variables that are related to waste analysis was performed using statistical procedures such as frequency tables, pearson’s chi-square tests of association and binary logistic regression analysis in the statistical package STATA version 10. Odds rations estimated from logistic regression analysis were used for identifying key factors that affect efficiency in the proper disposal of waste. Results obtained showed that 18% of the 332 food outlets in the study were generally inefficient in waste disposal. Based on odds rations estimated from binary logistic regression analysis, wrong perception (a factor of 10.88), failure to provide trash cans to customers (a factor of 3.15), the operation of food outlets by non-owners of managers (a factor of 2.33), factors that affect the proper management of waste at the 332 food outlets in the study.
Keywords: Binary Logistic Regression, Osun State, Waste Management, Waste.
Personnel’s Perception of Continued Relevance of Shorthand and Typewriting Skills to Office Management in Osun State Owned Tertiary Institutions, Nigeria. (Published)
Shorthand and Typewriting are two major skilled courses in Office Education Programme in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Acquisitions of skills in these two subjects were regarded as trade-in-stock for secretarial practitioners in managing offices. But with the current applications of Information and Communication Technology to manage in offices, the relevance of Typewriting and Shorthand skills became a subject of discourse. The main objective was to determine the continued relevance of the two subject’s skills to office management in Osun State owned tertiary institutions. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Five research questions and five hypotheses were raised for the study. The population comprised 171 executives with their individual secretaries, making 342 participants. The entire population was used as the sample size. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data and descriptive statistics to analyse. The findings among others revealed that Shorthand and Typewriting were still relevant to office management. Based on the findings, it is recommended that secretarial training institutions should intensify efforts towards the training of students in these “twin” subjects.
Keywords: Nigeria, Office Management, Osun State, Shorthand, Tertiary Institutions, Typewriting Skills
An Assessment of the Causative Factors and Effects of Delays in Building Construction Projects in Osun State, Nigeria. (Published)
Delay in building construction project is a universal phenomenon that is not peculiar to Osun alone. In fact, all countries of the world are faced with this global issue. These delays are usually considered as costly to all parties concerned in the projects and very often results in total abandonment thereby slowing down the growth of the construction sector. The purpose of this study was to assess the causative factors of delays and their effects on building construction projects in Osun. A total of forty two (42) project delay attributes and seventeen (17) effect attributes were identified through detailed literature review. Questionnaire survey were conducted across stakeholders that included among others; consultants, contractors and clients cutting across the building professionals namely; Architects, Builders, Quantity Surveyors, Estate Surveyors and Engineers to gather their views on causes of delay in delivery of projects. The research categorized the causes of delay under four main groups of client related, consultant related, contractor related and delay caused by incidental factors and their effects assessed using relative importance index (RII) as a basis for analysis. The RII for all delay factors and group of categories was computed so as to rank the factors. A total of 260 questionnaires were distributed among the respondents from different building construction firm in Osun state. Out of 260 questionnaires distributed, 234 valid questionnaires were retrieved back from the respondents, representing a response rate of (90.0%). The validation of information in this study yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.891. The most significant factors of construction delays were identified as: cash flow problem (delay payment) with (RII=0.89), incomplete drawings (RII=0.84), improper planning and scheduling problem (RII= 0.91), financial incapability (RII = 0.89) and force majeure (Acts of God) with (RII = 0.81). The study revealed that overall, contractor-caused delays ranked highest with (RII=0.91) and was attributed to improper planning and scheduling problem, followed by financial incapability (RII = 0.89), while client-caused delay attributed to cash flow problem (delay payment) (RII=0.89) was observed as the second most common cause of delay in building construction project in Osun state. Furthermore, the study revealed increase in final cost of project (RII = 0.88) and extension of time on project (RII = 0.80), as the top two (2) effects of delays in building construction project in Osun state, while cash flow (RII = 0.52) had the least effect. It is therefore believed that identification of the causes of potential delay factors that are likely to affect the timely delivery of projects can help to avoid extra costs through claims and disputes that arise among parties when delays are experienced.
Keywords: Causative factors, Construction Projects, Construction delays, Effects of delay, Nigeria, Osun State, RII
