Archives-December 

The main purpose for this study was to evaluate the efficacy of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) among children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) in selected primary Schools in Nairobi County, Kenya. The rise in defiance cases among children in schools in Kenya and the social, educational and economic impact it has on the children and their families have led for need for proper diagnosis and effective intervention. The objective of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with oppositional defiant disorder among children. Quasi experimental research design was used in the study with a sample of 180 participants .The study involved children aged between 9 to 14 years. Purposive sampling was used in selecting the two schools. 315 respondents completed the demographic questionnaires; the respondent’s parents also completed the social-demographic questionnaires. Teachers and parents completed the CADBI after a baseline assessment to identify those with symptoms of ODD. Systematic sampling method was applied on 249 participants who met the criteria for ODD because the number exceeded the required sample size. Risk factors associated with ODD were; religion, educational level of the respondents, conflicted relationship with parents, punishment in school, social- economic status and suspension from school, respondents whose parents were casual laborers, the level of education of the respondent’s parents. Significance was reported at p < 0.05. In conclusion, primary schools children need to have professional psychologists to provide counseling services to the children presenting with ODD symptoms and devise intervention that will help in the management of ODD which will help the children function well both socially and academically. This will also stop the progression ODD to other mental disorders when they are adults for example; Depression, anxiety, antisocial disorder which causes problems with adjustment in the community.

In prospect of escalating resistance to existing antimicrobial agents, herbal drugs are being looked as an imperative source for discovery of new agents for treating various ailments related to bacterial infections. C.occidentalis is an annual herb in India, has been used as folk medicine and found to posses wide range of pharmacological behaviors. The objective of the current study is to evaluate the effects of C.occidentalis leaf extracts on the growth of various pathogenic microorganisms based on the inhibition zone using disc diffusion assay, minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) values. The crude aqueous extract had been fractioned in to aqueous and ethylacetate fraction using biofractionation assay. In this, the aqueous fraction of C.occidentalis had no antimicrobial effect against the test microorganisms where as ethyl acetate fraction had inhibitory effects on the growth of 9 strains of 9 bacterial species and one fungal isolate. Bactericidal activity of microorganism was also found using Time kill curve.

Negotiation is a valuable skill in every part of life. It is most enjoyable when the conflicting parties gain something and develop positive working environment. Negotiations in conflicts management have been widely studied by many scholars around the world. But not much of research is carried out for the negotiation skills requirement of Bangladeshi HR professionals. Conflict results in poor work performance and low productivity; therefore, it?s suggested to acquire knowledge on negotiation skills for all HR professionals in the early stage of their career. This research provides a holistic view of the causes and effects of negotiation and its skills required for Bangladesh private business organization. An effort has been taken to know as to how HR managers can resolve the conflicts effectively. Fifteen experienced HR professionals were gathered together to discuss the issue while a presentation was made on “Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In” by Roger Fisher and Willium Ury (1991). The model or theory that is discussed in this paper may be helpful for the HR professionals of Bangladesh.

Diverticular disease of the small intestine is rare, much less common than diverticular disease of the colon. The most common symptom is non-specific abdominal pain and a feeling of bloating sensation. Major complications include diverticulitis, gastrointestinal bleeding and acute perforation. Radiological imaging now allows precise diagnosis, and new endoscopic and interventional radiological techniques have made it possible to limit the urgent surgical indication. Conservative treatment is suitable for most asymptomatic patients. Surgery is still necessary in case of perforation or diverticulitis. We describe the clinical case of an 80-years-old female patient with left flank pain, abdominal computed tomography scan revealed an ileal tumor but diagnostic laparoscopy revealed an uncomplicated small bowel diverticular disease.

Social Intelligence, an emerging new science with startling implications for our interpersonal world. If the purpose of education is to teach students skills they need to be well-prepared for life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness...and most likely the pursuit of gainful employment, then teaching social skills must be a crucial part of education. There are new requirements of today’s and tomorrow’s social leaders and members, and they all demand social intelligence.

Social media is recognized by the innovatively minded, as an excellent means to increase business, as the ever-increasing use of social media by populations around the world presents many points of engagement with existing and new customers. The outreach may an imperative for businesses to increase consumer engagement as an additional communication channel to market products and services, as the disruptions with inflation, decreased consumer confidence, and the ravages of the pandemic have wreaked significant losses to businesses worldwide. The barrier to consumer engagement however may be sub-optimal, when social media marketing (SMM) strategies fail to innovatively and unreservedly lag in the adeptness to engage consumers, which may present missed opportunities for small business managers (SBMs) to generate sales. Keeping pace with technological and consumer trends is vital to increase business success and lower risks in sustainability, reinforced by the theoretical lens that the theory of diffusion of innovation (DOI), provided, the purpose of this qualitative exploratory multiple case study was to study the strategies that SBMs use to develop and effectively implement SMM strategies, in increasing existing and prospective customer engagement. The sample purposively drawn from the study population, was six business managers and owners from six different successful small businesses in Maryland. The participation criteria of study participants were demonstrable and verifiable success in using social media marketing strategies successfully for five years, in marketing to existing and new customers. Semi-structured interviews were used in data collection, and with the invocation of a multiple case study design, the analysis also involved the examination of financial and other documents of industry and company respectively. The findings of this study may be of value to SBMs as the knowledge of the SMM strategies discerned from the study may provide insights into formulating and executing social media business and marketing strategies, which advance customer engagement. Business knowledge and the judicious implementation of it can contribute to economic success, which usually translates into positive benefits for society

Adoption is a decision to make use of an innovation on a continuous basis. This study investigated the socio-economic determinants of adoption of improved rice production technologies in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The study employed multi-stage random sampling techniques in the selection of 420 rice farmers from the three agricultural zones of the state. Primary data were sourced through field survey with the aid of structured questionnaires and interview schedule. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis. The result of the socio-economic characteristics of the farmers shows that majority (66.67 percent) of the respondents were males whose age ranged between 41-50 years with mean age of 42 years. Most of them (62.50 percent) were married and had household size of between 6-10 persons with average household size of 8 persons. Majority (50.83 percent) were full-time farmers whose farm size ranged between 1.1-2.0 hectares. Most of the farmers (43.33 percent) had been involved in rice farming for 21-30 years and earned monthly income of between N31,000-N40,000. The result of logistic regression analysis showed a log likelihood ratio of -188. 40 and Chi-square value of 682.559 which was significant at (P= 0.01); implying that all the variables jointly determined the dependent variable. The Pseudo R2 (Nagelkerke) which was 76.6 percent implied that about 76.6 percent of the variation in the adoption of improved rice production technologies was explained by the farmers socio-economic characteristics. Most of the variables were significant and met a priori expectations. The result of factor analysis identified: technical, financial and institutional constraints as major bottlenecks limiting adoption of improved rice production technologies in the area. It was concluded that the socio-economic characteristics of the rural farmers significantly influenced their adoption of improved rice production technologies. Necessary recommendations such as: reviving youths’ interest towards rice production; employing and training more extension workers; timely provision of subsidized agricultural inputs as well as incentives for the formation of cooperative societies; were made.

One of the most important natural resources that cover much of the earth's surface is soil. Most life on earth depends upon the soil as a direct or indirect source of food. Plants are rooted in the soil and obtain nutrients from it. Animals also get nutrients from eating the plants on the soil. Soil is home of many organisms such as seeds, spores, insects, and worms. The contents of soil change constantly and there are many different kinds of soil. It forms very slowly and is destroyed easily, so it must be conserved in order to continue to support life.

The goal of this study is to suggest a new triple Kamal integral transform. We outline its essential properties and proved some important results, including existence theorem, triple convolution theorem and derivatives properties. Moreover, the proposed new transform is utilized to solve Mboctara partial differential equations.

Solvent extraction of lanthanum(III) and vanadium(V) from their aqueous solutions with chloroform solution of 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-butanoylpyrazol-5-one (the ligand) was studied. The effects of ligand (extractant) concentrations and the pH of the metal aqueous solutions on the solvent extraction were evaluated in terms of their distribution coefficients (D) and the equilibrium constants (Kex) were determined. The values of the slopes of the plots of log D versus log [HBPy(org)] and that of log D versus pH showed that approximately 3 moles of the HBPy ligand reacted with one mole of La3+ while 2 moles of the same ligand reacted with VO2+ during the extraction process. The average logarithms of the equilibrium constant (Kex) values obtained for the metals at the different HBPy concentrations and buffer 4 are -7.40 (La) and -5.14 (V); while those obtained at the different pH and a constant extractant concentration of 0.02 M are La(BPy)3 = -0.49; and VO2(BPy)2 = -1.39; showing that the ligand is an efficient extractant for V(V) and La(III) ions from their aqueous solutions. The study has shown that separation of the La(III) and V(V) ions in their mixture is possible by the adjustment of the extractant concentrations and the pH of the aqueous solution of such mixture.