Archives-December 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the school inputs in private primary schools in determining pupils’ examination performance. This was in relation to general lack of literature on school inputs in relation to performance in private primary schools in Kenya. The findings of this study showed that the quality of education and performance of pupils in examinations are determined by teacher experience, teacher qualification, the school environment, the head teacher and educational resources. The study provides a base for an evaluation of cost-effectiveness of different policies associated with school inputs aimed at improving the quality of education at primary school level. Parents and the public in general can also gain from the study; by gaining confidence in the private schools and the quality of education they provide.

By around 21st century in public sector in Kenya, the commitment of employees in management of public services had declined drastically. One of the contributing factors was lack of proper training and capacity building among the public servants. The Kenya government responded by formulating Human Resource Development Training Policy that aimed at improving efficiency and effectiveness among the employees. The purpose of the study arose from the fact that training and development, is to develop capabilities of an individual to satisfy the current and future manpower needs of the organization. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of training and development in the department of children services. The main purpose of this study was to establish the impact of training and development on employee commitment in the Department of Children Services where the study used correlation research design. Questionnaire was used to collect data from 186 employees. Data was analyzed using frequencies, percentages and Pearson’s Moment correlation coefficient test. The study concluded that training and development had an effect on employee commitment in the department of children’s services. The study recommends that the government should emphasize frequent training of employees to enhance skill development. In the public service training ensures continued and adequate supply of relevant knowledge and skill to the service. The training provided to the employees should be designed in such a way that it makes Public Service better equipped to meet the increasing challenges for higher standards of service delivery and also commitment to cope with the competitive technological challenges that are taking place today.

ABSTRACT Teratogenicity is the ability to cause developmental anomalies in fetus. Substances with teratogenicity effects can damage the DNA of a developing foetus. They may cause abnormal development of a limb malformation of an organ and the effects for the developing fetus can vary depending on the teratogen. Chicken eggs are used as a model system to test Bhavana panjankula thailam for its Teratogenic effect. Bhavana panjankula thailam is one of the Siddha drugs indicated for karuppachudu (a type of pitha disorder affecting uterus), urinary tract infections, dry skin and constipation. In this study five concentrations of drug Bhavana panjankula thailam were injected into the chicken embryos. Cadmium is used as a positive control in the same concentrations which affects limb deformities of the organ. 1:1 ratio of cadmium and drug were injected into the embryo for scrutinize the effect of drug. At the 12th day of incubation the eggs were dissected out and detect the malformation in the embryo. The results suggested that the lowest concentrations cof drug treated embryo has no malformation and highest concentrations of drug treated embryo has malformed like heart and other organs are distorted. The DNA was isolated from embryos of chick and run in agarose gel electrophoresis to confirm the DNA damage. cOCT4 and cGATA4 genes which is responsible for chick embryogenesis. GATA and OCT family of transcriptional regulatory proteins, GATA-4 and OCT-4 thought to be involved in the regulation of cardio genesis and gut development. Functions for these factors are known in the heart, but relatively little is implicit concerning their possible roles in the regulation of gut-specific gene expression. In this study, we analyzed the expression of cGATA-4, and cOCT4. Further gene expression studies will be carried out for further authentication of teratogenic effect at gene level. Though the Bhavana panjankula thailam was shown teratogenic effect at the higher dose. So detailed animal studies and clinical trials should be carried out for apposite remedy. KEYWORDS: Teratogenicity, bhavana panjankula thailam, chick embryo, DNA damage.

This research was conducted to study the importance of co-curricular activities of primary school students in Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. This research was conducted using the descriptive research. The result was interpreted in four elements of co-curricular activities. The perception towards the co-curricular activities is positive and the implementation of co-curricular activities help to enhance the skills of students.

The study was carried out for determine the amount of input- output energy used and indices of energy and economic of fattening farms under different farm sizes in Qazvin city of Iran. For this purpose the data were collected from 30 fattening farms. The surveyed farms were classified into three groups of small (less than 50 heads), medium (50 to 150 heads) and large farms (more than 150 heads).The total average energy input of 24003 MJ calf -1 was required for fattening farm. The share of feed by 75% of the total energy inputs was the highest energy input. This was followed by fossil fuels (16%) and young calf (4%), respectively. The energy use efficiency, energy productivity, Specific energy, and net energy were found as 0.009 (kg MJ-1), 114.8 (MJ kg-1) and -20553(MJ calf-1), respectively. According to the study results, the contribution of indirect energy was higher than that of direct energy; also the share of renewable energy was more than that of non-renewable energy. Economic analysis showed that total average cost of production was 909.8 ($ calf-1). The benefit-cost ratio and productivity were 1.1 and 0.22 (kg $-1), respectively. The results showed that medium farms in terms of economic and energy indexes lower position than the small and large farms. So, they should change their scale to achieve higher efficiency.

Massawas and its surrounding beaches can support a diversity of marine birds along with the Red sea, for weather seasonal, annual, and spatial factors that affect bird richness and abundance on public beaches. To do so, we conducted two years of bird surveys on the beaches. These beaches are permanent natural water bodies, and are important for bird wildlife because they are stable resources for food, water and also good ground for mating purpose. The permanent water bodies are constant and limited for its geographical areas under natural conditions. We studied the marine water birds which are both migrant and resident; its species richness and diversity were studied in Massawa and its surrounding beaches in the Red sea region. It is a good for marine food source and also near by areas for marine birds there was natural vegetation in the seasons and are less important for agricultural resources. These areas were supposed to be earlier in rich resource for different marine bird’s species and may be sometimes disturbed by the seasonal sea tides and also by tourists. The study reveals that there are different species of birds as discussed below. We conclude our study that reductions in the rate of population decline of the observed species of marine bird biodiversity. To protect such species great care must be exercised either by governmental or by non-governmental agencies. Across all species we found that there are 10 marine bird species of this region and calculated there values the bird species and abundance and obtained low values indicating low bird richness and abundance, it may be due to strongly affected by seasons, natural habitat and the availability of food and are the basis for conducive environment for breeding for maintaining next generation.

Egypt is pioneer on all fields of literature especially on translation and issuing western thoughts among intellectuals and scientists. In fact, most historians believe that France emperor "Napeleon BonaParte" attack to Egypt provoked "Arab Spring" that started from Egypt. Narrating and proceeding children’s literature prepare the ground for developing the covert talents among authors.Suhair Al-Qalamavi was a symbol of Arab educated woman and a pioneer on advocating Egyptian women rights .Having entered to the university, she was favored by most of the professors at Cairo University, especially Dr. Taha Hossein. Her voluble language on stories made readers fallow the scenario and satisfied the addressers to perceive the texts easily. As a literal critic, Al-Qalamavi was writing for Cairo’s prominent press. She studied the works of many great scholars as "Taha Hossein", "Mohammad Heikal", "Mohammad Abduh, etc. and criticized some of them . The present study intends to study the literary role of great Egyptian women as Suhair Al-Qalamavi as a pioneer based on their activities and literary works, to show the equal role of men and women in Islamic Society.

The ultimate goal of each and every learning situation is social skills which help learners become better person for themselves as well as their society. In this line critical reading gives learners mental disciplines and intellectual development and it addresses social issues. Therefore, in the present study, the researchers endeavored to investigate if teaching critical reading through pictorial verses nonpictorial texts can be influential and practical in improving the Iranian EFL learners’ reading comprehension. To fulfil the purpose of this study, after homogenizing the learners, they were divided into three groups, namely two experimental and one control groups. In the end of the term a PET of reading was run and the data analysis showed that there were significant differences between the means of the three groups on the posttest of reading comprehension, and the first experimental group which were taught reading both critically and through pictorial texts outperformed both the second experimental group which were taught only through critical reading with no pictorial texts and control group which were taugh noly through pictorial texts and not critically.

Water demand in Abeokuta, Nigeria and bacteriological content of public water supplied by the Ogun State Water Corporation, major water supplier in Abeokuta; is assessed in this paper. The water demand of the population was estimated for ten years based on the 2006 National Population Census result, using the geometric projection method. Forty sampling locations were also randomly selected in the city of Abeokuta. Water samples were collected - during the rainy and dry season. The samples were analyzed for total and faecal coliform count using the Most Probable Number method. The presence of Escherichia coli was detected in 39 of a total of 80 samples collected in both seasons. Water demand ranges from 2.01 x 10-7 m3 - 2.48 x 10-7 m3 per year. However, the current volume of water supplied, about 82 million litres per day (2.99 x 10-7 m3 per year), that is when the public utility is in operation is only sufficient to meet the current water demand of the population. The paper argued the need for urgent expansion of the water scheme to adequately meet the present and future water needs of the population and by extension the targets of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The paper concludes on the need for periodic monitoring of the state of water from the distribution pipe network from source to the point of use, as well as the water quality parameters that are necessary to ensure the safety of water.

Ogbum-nu-Abali Creek of Port Harcourt metropolis was undertaken to assess the impact of human activities in relation to physico-chemistry between March – May, 2006. Results of physico-chemical parameters showed that most of the parameters were higher than the maximum permissible limits for surface waters and discharge of wastewaters into surface waters. Results further showed that pH ranges from 6.20 – 6.70 with a mean value of 6.54 mean values of parameters included: conductivity (1602.03 ?s/cm), TSS (174.78mg/L), TDS (5187.577mg/L), Turbidity (8.12NTU), BOD5 (27.95mg/L), DO (4.51mg/L), Oil and Grease (5.77mg/L), Phosphate (0.443mg/L), Lead (0.3mg/L), Fe (2.74mg/L), Manganese (11.54mg/L), Chromium (0.33mg/L) and Temperature (28.170C) respectively. The creek was transparent, foamy, slimy, slightly smelly and no animal life was sighted in it due to deterioration of water quality as evident by high BOD and low oxygen content. It is pertinent to state that anthropogenic activities in and around the creek have given rise to alteration of the physico-chemical characteristics of the water quality rendering it unfit for recreational exercise, therefore, the abattoir at Ahiamakara leading to Nkpogu community should be discontinued to avoid water pollution. Keywords: Anthropogenic activities, pollution, discharge, creek, and rivers.