Despite the changes in human behaviour and interactions occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions are yet to adapt to the new normal fully. While some educational institutions switched entirely to e-learning to promote teaching and learning, others could not offer education due to physical and social restrictions. Previous studies in Africa have identified reasons for the poor ICT adoption for educational purposes. However, the degree to which these factors affect ICT utilisation is barely analysed. Using a quantitative approach, this study assessed ICT deployment for teaching in the COVID-19 era by focusing on their availability and challenges. A sample of 344 respondents from a population of 2,867 academic staff at two Nigerian public universities participated in the study. After receiving face validity from experts, a structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Cronbach alpha reliability indices of the questionnaire ranged from 0.72 to 0.94. Descriptive statistics (simple percentages, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (one-way ANOVA) were used for data analysis. Findings generally revealed a moderate extent in the availability of ICT resources in public universities. The cost of data, computer literacy, and electricity supply are challenges that significantly affected ICT deployment in the COVID-19 era. Based on this finding, it was concluded that personal and institutional challenges affect how ICT resources are deployed in public universities. It was recommended, among other things, that the management of each tertiary institution should apportion proceeds from internally generated revenue to procure ICT resources specific to the need of the school. The study provides the ground for further research into students’ use of ICT for educational purposes.

This research studied the interaction influence of demographic characteristics (marital status, job rank, gender and age) and occupational stress level, on the work performance of faculty members in Calabar Metropolis. The descriptive survey design was utilized for this investigation. A sample of 150 respondents was identified using the systematic random sampling procedure from a population of 400 Faculty of Education lecturers from two public universities in Calabar Metropolis. A four-point scale validity and reliability certified questionnaire was used for data collection. Data generated was analyzed using the two-way analysis of variance. Hypotheses were all tested at the 0.05 alpha level. Findings revealed a significant interactive effect of demographic variables (age, gender, job rank and marital status) and stress levels on lecturers' jobs. Results also indicated that the stress level of lecturers affects the degree or quality of job performance, with those having average stress levels reporting better job performance in the universities studied. Recommendations were made that all lecturers, irrespective of age, gender, marital status or rank, should develop or adopt good stress management skills and disengage/reduce extra jobs and other unnecessary stress-inducing activities.

This paper examined the causes, effects and measures for mitigating climate change to ensure adequate supply of food through crop production to address the food insecurity which has occupied a central focus of the Nigerian economy. Unfortunately, crop production is fraught with many ecological challenges including climate change. This climate change which occurs as a result of the buildup of Green House Gases (GHGs) occasioned by industrialization, technological modeling and agriculture, exert significant effects on crop yield, water availability, ecosystem disequilibrium resulting in cases of drought, flood earthquake among others. For crop production to be scaled-up to meet the food requirement of the ever growing Nigerian population amidst these challenges, there is need to mitigate these adverse effects of climate change through the adoption of sustainable land management practices that can reduce the atmospheric stock of GHGs such as zero-tillage, appropriate use of fertilizers, avoidance of bush burning, graze land management, improved water management among others. Achieving great success in these areas requires that Nigerian government should be more proactive in their policies that hold promise for sustainable cultures in agricultural production as well as evolving global partnerships on ecological issues.

Objective. Food proteins provide amino acids (AAs) and serve as building blocks of all vital organs, muscles, hormones, and biological fluids such as blood. Eggs are known as a good source of protein. This study compared the protein quality of bird eggs (raw and boiled), using their AA scores since some individuals consume raw eggs for various reasons. Research Methods. Eggs studied were exotic chicken, local chicken, turkey, quail, and guinea fowl eggs. The eggs were shelled and their contents (boiled and raw) lyophilized. The standard AOAC method (Kjeldahl) was used to determine protein content, while the amino acid composition was measured using an AA analyzer. The total AA scores were calculated based on the whole hen’s egg AA profiles. Statistical significance was accepted at p < 0.05 . Results. The Guinea fowl egg had the highest total amino acid score (TAAS) of 0.92. The other scores ranged as follows: 0.82 (quail) >0.81 (turkey) >0.75 (exotic chicken), and the lowest score was 0.65 (local chicken). The least scores were phenylalanine: 0.34 (exotic chicken), phenylalanine and serine: 0.36 (local chicken), leucine and aspartic acid: 0.41 (turkey), methionine: 0.31 (quail), and glutamic acid: 0.33 (guinea fowl). Also, guinea fowl egg had the highest total essential amino acid (TEAA) (49.6 g/100 g protein), i.e., % TEAA (55.1%), while exotic chicken egg had the lowest (41.1%), but the highest % NEAA (58.9%). Conclusion. Guinea fowl eggs had the highest EAA and TAA content. Its consumption should particularly be encouraged for children as this can significantly reduce the risk of protein-energy malnutrition and prevent protein deficiencies.

Available reports provide an account of academic staff’s poor job performance in higher education institutions and universities in particular. Consequently, a growing body of research has been attracted to this area, including those seeking ways to understand the problem and others aimed at proffering solutions. This study contributes to the literature by investigating the influence of occupational stress on the job performance of academic staff in universities. Three null hypotheses directed the study in line with the quantitative ex-post facto research design. A sample of 150 respondents was obtained using the systematic random sampling technique from a population of 400 lecturers in the Faculty of Education from two public universities in Nigeria. A 31-item questionnaire was used for data collection. The null hypotheses were tested at the .05 alpha level using simple linear regression analysis. It was revealed that remuneration is a significant positive predictor of academic staff job performance. The prediction of workload was negatively non-significant on the job performance of academics. The provision of institutional amenities has a positive but non-significant prediction on academic staff job performance in the two public universities. It was concluded that occupational stress significantly influences the job performance of lecturers in universities. The study recommended that the government constantly pay lecturers’ salaries as and when due. Institutional managers should reward lecturers with outstanding performance to boost their morale for effective service delivery.

This study was designed to identify the entrepreneurial skills required by secondary school graduates for success in the tourism industry in Cross River State, Nigeria. Three research questions and hypotheses guided the study. The study made use of survey research design. The population for the study was 1,332 comprising 112 graduate tourism personnel in the Cross River State Tourism Commission and 1,220 Vocational subject teachers in public secondary schools in the State. The Sample for the study was 356 respondents. A 20 percent proportionate sample was used to select the sample of vocational subject teacher (244 respondents) through simple random sampling technique while the entire population of tourism personnel (112) was involved in the study. A 32 item questionnaire tagged Entrepreneurial Skills Requirements in Tourism Industry Questionnaire (ESRTIQ) was the instrument for data collection and was validated by three experts. Split half and Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used to determine the stability of the instrument and a coefficient of 0.82 was obtained. Weighted mean scores were used to answer the research questions while Independent ttest statistic was used to test the null hypotheses at .05 level of significance. From the data collected and analyzed, it was found out that secondary school graduates required entrepreneurial skills training in planning for establishment of business outlets; implementing the business plan and marketing products in any chosen business outlet in the tourism industry. It was recommended that the identified entrepreneurial skills areas be integrated into the skill training programme of the state so that youths and adults can be trained to take advantage of the business opportunities in the tourism industry.

This research was conducted to study the effects of climate variables such as rainfall, temperature, and relative humidity on cowpea yield, and evaluated in Gombe State, Nigeria, during the period of 2009 to 2018 (one decade). The ex-post facto research design was adopted for the study, utilizing secondary data obtained from meteorological and agronomic data collected from the Metrological Office and agronomic data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Gombe State. Both data were collected and analysed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Simple Linear regression. The study found that there is a negative relationship between rainfall, relative humidity and area of land/ha, while a positive relationship existed for temperature and cowpea yield over the period under study decade. The study revealed that all the parameters-rainfall temperature, relative humidity contributes 61% to climate variation in the study area. The study among others recommended that cowpea farmers should adopt new measures such as early planting, use of resistant varieties, contour farming to conserve water and supplementary irrigation to cope with the negative effects of climate change on cowpea yield and increases cowpea production in Gombe State, Nigeria.

This study determined the dietary effect of cocoa pod husk meal (CPHM) on the reproductive performance of rabbits. Twelve iso-nitrogenous (16.05% CP) and iso–caloric (2500.12 Kcal kg-1 ME) diets were formulated. The CPHM was included at 0, 12.5, 25 and 37.5% levels for T1, T2, T3, and T4 raw; T5, T6, T7, T8 fermented and T9, T10, T11, T12 hot–water treated CPHM. Sixty weaned rabbits between 5 and 6 weeks old of both sexes (30 males and 30 females) with mean initial body weight of 606.42±1.30g were used. The rabbits were randomly distributed using a completely randomized design (CRD). The animals were crossed at maturity for reproductive performance evaluation. Total protein concentrations of reproductive parts were determined. Result showed no significant dietary effect on reproductive performance. The 37.5% level recorded zero pregnancy in the raw and hot–water groups. Average gestation period ranged between 30 and 31 days. Average litter size at birth ranged 1 – 4 kittens. Average weaning weight ranged between 475 and 580.25g with the least weight in the raw group. Milk yield ranged between 205.46 and 262.94g. The sperm volume and gonadal sperm reserve recorded significant effect (P<0.05). In the raw and hot–water groups, the sperm volume decreased marginally. The protein concentration in the testes recorded higher significant (P<0.05) values in the control diet and the least value in raw group. The study concluded that fermented CPHM diets performed best at 37.5% level in terms of reproductive performance of rabbits. Keywords: Cocoa, Gonadal sperm reserve, Kindling, Milking, Sperm volume.