Asian Journal of Advanced Research and Reports

The upsurge of abattoir operations as a result of the rise in demand for meat protein has led to a corresponding increase in waste generation. These wastes are often channelled into nearby streams with little or no treatment which exposes aquatic organisms to the resultant consequences of this waste deposition. This study was thus aimed at determining the physicochemical quality of some abattoir samples in Port Harcourt city. Soil, faecal matter, wastewater, waste blood and service water samples from the Iwofe, Rumuodomaya and Trans-Amadi abattoirs were collected within a  period of one year and the pH, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅), sulphate, chloride, temperature, nitrate, ammonia and heavy metals quantities including chromium, lead, zinc, cobalt, copper and cadmium were determined using standard techniques. The study recorded high BOD₅ and COD values from the blood, faecal matter, soil and wastewater samples while service water samples had values within the Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality limits. Seasonal variations in the physicochemical parameters of the samples collected both in the wet and dry seasons were observed. The pH values ranged from 6.2-8.5, BOD₅ of blood, faecal matter soil and wastewater ranged from 2124-4349 mg/l while the COD ranged from 2715-8820 mg/l. In Rumuodomaya, the BOD₅ and COD ranged from 2276-2727 mg/l and 2583-3245 mg/l respectively while samples from Trans-Amadi abattoir had values for BOD₅ and COD ranging from 2253-4330 mg/l and 2931-4597 mg/l, respectively. Nitrate, chromium, cadmium, zinc, cobalt, lead and copper contents in the different locations varied statistically at α-0.05 while no significant difference was observed for pH, ammonia, temperature, COD, BOD₅, sulphate and chloride contents at α=0.05. The BOD₅ and COD of waste blood, wastewater, soil and faecal matter recorded values that were above permissible limits for service water and therefore raises concern for the aquatic life being threatened by these effluents as the amount of dissolved oxygen available for them will be reduced as a pollution of the immediate environment, if these generated wastes are not treated before disposal.    

The intelligent sports analysis requires exactly modeling the kinematics and dynamics of a soccer ball in a three-dimensional (3D) space.  To address this problem, a 3D dynamic model of the soccer ball is developed to simulate the motion and capture the kinematics and dynamics performance. The model consists of three sub-models governed by the classic mechanics and formulated as time-dependent ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The simulations involve visualizing the ball traveling trajectory, which contains the instantaneous force information; and plotting the time-varying displacement and force curves. The model is validated by comparison of the results from this simulation and another theoretical calculation. A case study is presented to simulate the projectile motion of a soccer ball in a virtual environment. The spatial kinematics and dynamics results are obtained and analyzed. The results show the max projectile height and range, and kick force increase with the increase of the initial velocity. This research is significant to simulate the soccer ball motion for promoting the planning, evaluation, and optimization of trajectory.

The paper assessed the roles of maintenance culture in the sustainability of hotels in Ado-Ekiti the research employed the use of survey research method; it involved the use of a well structured questionnaire to elicit information from respondents. Purposive sampling technique will be used to select three (3) star hotel as the sample for the study. The reason for making use of the purposive sampling was because the researcher feels its right to use 3-star hotels for the research. Three (3) star hotels are the ones that have at least some average facilities that can be maintained. In all the 3 star hotels in Ado Ekiti, a total sample of 20 hotels were selected for the study using convenient sampling technique which form 20% of the total population of the hotels in the study area, The patrons who responded to the questionnaire were selected with the use of convenient sampling technique. A total of 4 patrons were selected from each of the 20 hotels. However, the researcher was able to retrieve 79 out of 80 copies of questionnaire administered. The data collected were analysed using descriptive method of data analysis. It was revealed that proper and effective maintenance culture helps to shape the image and quality of services rendered by hotels which in turns attracts both old and new customers; maintenance culture is valuable for the sustainability of hotels and their brands as it helps in retaining the corporate image, retaining competitive advantage and satisfies current and intending customers of the hotel; poor knowledge of the need of rebranding of hotels, looking at most of the hotel owners from observation, one can deduce that many of them does not have a good knowledge of maintenance culture, hence, many hotels have a snail growth. It was recommended in the paper that the hotel owners should create a strategy to imbibe the use of maintenance culture into their business, and by so doing they will be able to gain and retain new and existing customers. The association of hotel business owners should dim it fit without sentiments to train and re-train their members on the new maintenance culture methods.

Marital Stability is interpreted as whether a couple in a marriage remains together, instead of separating or getting divorced. It is also called as marital longevity or duration of marriage. The aim of the study is to find the relationship between different psychosocial factor (marital adjustment, love, personal intimacy personality, dyadic coping, and spirituality) and marital stability. For the purpose of sampling, thirty married couples were randomly selected using stratified random sampling. The measuring tools used were Locke-Wallace marital adjustment questionnaire (Marital adjustment), Love scale (Love), Personal assessment of intimacy in relationship (Personal intimacy), Big five inventory (personality), Dyadic coping inventory (Dyadic coping) and the daily spiritual experience scale (Spirituality).Six null hypotheses were raised and tested using descriptive and inferential statistics (Percentage, mean, standard deviation and correlation). The research finding shows that there is a significant negative correlation between sexual intimacy and marital stability(r= -.44 and p<.01). All other variables (Marital adjustment, love, personal intimacy, personality, dyadic coping and spirituality) are not shown to be contributing to marital stability.

Background of Study: Cultism is one of the major sources of violence and causes of death among youths in the Niger Delta region, Nigeria. Youths join different cult groups to have more influence and power than their peers. Supremacy of a particular cult group in a community gives its members edge to take control of proceeds and royalties accruing from crude oil production in the area. As a result, many cult groups are at conflict to assume dominance and control. This rivalry among them triggered inter and intra cult violence such as assassination, abduction, clashes, and destruction of properties as well as insecurity and upsurge in criminal activities.

Methods and Materials: This study examines the vulnerability of youths to community cultism in the Niger Delta.  It looks at reasons joining cultism, crimes committed by cultists and extent of cult attacks and fatalities in the area. Adopting cross sectional research design, this study was conducted in the 20 Local Government Areas (LGAs) where amnesty was offered to cultists by government in 2016. The study population was the entire population of the repentant cultists (cultists who embraced the amnesty package) and Taro Yamene’s formula was used in selecting the sample size of 400. Snowball sampling technique was employed in selecting repentant cultists. Data relied on primary and secondary sources, and were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, weighted means and choropleth maps.

Results:  The highest reason youths engage in cultism in communities was for protection. Also, quest for influence/power, money and peer group were other reasons. Fun and desire for political connection were the least reasons. The major crimes committed by cultists were murder/killing, intimidation, kidnapping and political thuggery. Cult attacks were highest in 2018 with 109 cases and least in 2010 with 33 cases while fatalities peaked in 2017 with 92 deaths and lowered in 2010 with 13 deaths.

Conclusion:  Youths are vulnerable to joining cult gangs for protection and to exert influence/power over their peers. Re-orientation and sensitization programs are recommended to disabuse their minds and discourage them from engaging in anti-social behaviors.