Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/5bud4Mg63NA/your-tweets-are-prettier-than-ever-before
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?
Remodeling any room of the house is not really all that difficult as long as you have the knowledge and experience of a professional on your side. There are far too many instances where people have decided to tackle what seemed like a rather simple remodeling job all on their own only to find out that they were in way over their heads. There is a simple reason why construction companies with years of experience are the best choice to handle any type of remodeling job no matter how big or small it may be. They simply know what they are doing. If you think you have what it takes to do a successful remodeling job, then go for it, but you have been warned!
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Start Small!
It does not matter if you have decided to do the remodeling job yourself, or if you have decided to hire a professional construction company to get the job done for you. The best thing to do, would be to start small. There are only a couple of rooms in your home that you could classify as small. Many people have a very small room where they keep their washing machine and their dryer, but why in the world would you want to remodel this room? This is one room that you really do not spend all that much time in anyways. The only other room in your house that is small would have to be the bathroom. This is a great place to start any remodel. They will give you a great idea of what is involved, and the expenses associated with a smaller remodeling job. This information might be exactly what you need to determine whether or not you want to move forward with other types of remodeling jobs in your home.
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Even though starting small is the best idea when it comes to remodeling, if you have no experience doing any sort of construction then you need to stay out of the bathroom. There is far too much plumbing in the bathroom to get involved in. This is one area where one simple mistake could wind up flooding your whole house and doing thousands of dollars? worth of damage, and that could end up being a little counterproductive. The whole idea is to make the house a little more livable and flooding the house will not be the slightest bit helpful.
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This means that you are going to need to locate a construction company to help you handle the remodeling job. Finding a company that handle this type of work can be pretty simple. You can just start searching on the Internet to help you find plenty of great results. You could start by searching for something like, ?bathroom remodeling Fairfax VA.? This should bring back plenty of great results. Once you have a list of results, you just need to determine which construction company is the best for the job. A quick look at their website should give you an idea of whether or not they are qualified for the job.
Source: http://www.oyeblikk.net/starting-small-is-the-key-to-a-successful-remodeling-job/
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Jan. 29, 2013 ? Hydrogen sulfide* (H2S) may play a wide-ranging role in staving off aging, according to a paper published online ahead of print in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology. In this review article, a team from China explores the compound's plethora of potential anti-aging pathways.
"H2S has been gaining increasing attention as an important endogenous signaling molecule because of its significant effects on the cardiovascular and nervous systems," the team writes. The evidence is mounting, they note, that hydrogen sulfide slows aging by inhibiting free-radical reactions, by activating SIRT1, an enzyme believed to be a regulator of lifespan, and probably through its interactions with a gene, klotho, which appears to have its own market basket of anti-aging activity.
Hydrogen sulfide is produced within the human body, and has a variety of important physiological effects. For example, it relaxes the vascular endothelium and smooth muscle cells, which is important to maintaining clean arteries as one ages, says first author Zhi-Sheng Jiang, of the University of South China, Hunan. It functions as an antioxidant. And it inhibits expression of pro-inflammatory factors, all of which "imply an important role in aging and age-associated diseases," according to the paper. For example, mice lacking CSE, the gene for an enzyme involved in producing H2S, manifest extensive, premature arteriosclerosis, an inevitable consequence of aging, says Jiang.
The gene, klotho, which appears to be upregulated by hydrogen sulfide, is thought to extend lifespan via a number of different pathways, some of which promote production of endogenous antioxidants, according to the report. Produced in the kidneys, it has direct angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibiting activity; that is, it's an ACE inhibitor, just like certain drugs that mitigate high blood pressure. Not surprisingly, plasma H2S declines with age, and is lower in spontaneously hypertensive rats than in those with normal blood pressure. More generally, a lack of H2S is implicated in cardiovascular disease.
A decline in H2S is also thought to undermine neurological health. Endogenous H2S has been found wanting in an animal model of Parkinson's disease, and is found to be depressed in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. There are even suggestions, mostly in animal models, but also in human studies, that H2S may be protective against cancer, according to the report.
"Data available so far strongly suggest that H2S may become the next potent agent for preventing and ameliorating the symptoms of aging and age-associated diseases," concludes Jiang. In the future, he says, people may take H2S via food, or as an anti-aging supplement.
* Hydrogen sulfide (British English: hydrogen sulphide) is the chemical compound with the formula H2S. It is a colorless, very poisonous, flammable gas that gives off the odor of rotten eggs.
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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/jEAT1lRShRo/130129121945.htm
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Provided?By Senator Bill Emmerson
There are many challenges to starting and running a successful small business. According to the Small Business Administration, nationwide only about half of all new small businesses survive five years or more and about one-third survive 10 years or more. Many small business owners find themselves needing help in the first few years of their business ? whether it?s to obtain financial assistance or start the business in the first place.
This briefing report is intended to spread the word about many of the programs and services offered in California, so that current small business owners, and those interested in starting a business, are able to compete, succeed, and ?be a part of? the small business culture in California.
What?s Out There?
For potential and current small business owners, there are a variety of programs available from the state and federal governments. The table below lists whether the programs are available to potential or current small business owners. A description of each program available is detailed below.
Program | Available ? to Potential Small Business Owner? | Available ? to Current Small Business Owner |
California Small Business ? Certification Program | No | Yes |
California Small Business Loan ? Guarantee Program | Yes | Yes |
California Small Business ? Development Center Program | Yes | Yes |
Permit Assistance | Yes | Yes |
California State Trade and Export ? Promotion (California STEP) Project | No | Yes |
What are these Programs?
California?s Small Business Certification Program
The Small Business Certification Program was established to increase business opportunities for the California small business community. The program is administered by the Department of General Services? Office of Small Business and Disabled Veterans Business Enterprise Services.
To be eligible for certification, a small business must meet the following criteria:
There are a number of incentives available for businesses participating in the certification program, including, but not limited to, the following:
More information on California?s Small Business Certification Program can be found at:
http://www.dgs.ca.gov/pd/Programs/OSDS.aspx
(See also: ?Briefing Report: Certification Opens Doors for Small Businesses,? published on January 15, 2009.)
California?s Small Business Loan Guarantee Program
The California Small Business Loan Guarantee Program (SBLGP) is administered by the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and is designed to help small businesses owners who are having problems getting a loan through the normal process or do not have a favorable credit history. To be eligible the business must be located in California and be classified as a small business. The loan can be used for any purpose such as hiring new employees, buying new equipment, expanding into a new facility, etc. Loans can be in the amount of up to $500,000. Interest is negotiated between the borrower and the lender, and the loan term may be extended up to 7 years. Small businesses owners that employ 500 people or less may apply for a SBLGP loan by contacting a Financial Development Corporation (FDC). To locate the nearest FDC, or to find out more information on the SBLGP, visit http://www.bth.ca.gov/sblgp.htm.
California?s Small Business Development Center Program
Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) are part of a U.S. Small Business Administration partnership program uniting private enterprise, government, higher education and local nonprofit economic development organizations. In California there are 35 SBDC?s, including six regional centers throughout the state. Centers provide assistance at no cost to anyone interested in expanding or improving an existing business or starting a business for the first time. SBDC business clients work with business advisors to achieve a variety of goals: securing patents for intellectual property, launching upgraded websites, successfully bidding on contracts with federal or state government, financial analysis and restructuring of debt and many other projects. In addition, local and regional centers regularly hold free and /or low-cost seminars on a variety of topics including, but not limited to, starting a small business, growing your business, contracting with the state, and how to become a state certified small business. A complete listing of California?s SBDCs can be found at http://www.asbdc-us.org.
Permit Assistance
The Governor?s Office of Business and Economic Development?s Permit Assistance Unit helps new business owners identify all of the permits needed to start a new or expand an existing business. The unit schedules pre-application meetings between businesses and the appropriate regulatory agencies to help streamline the permitting process, and acts as a neutral facilitator between state regulator agencies and businesses to resolve permitting issues. Their services are confidential and free. In some cases, a project manager may be assigned to personally guide an applicant through the permit process. Individuals may contact a Permit Assistance specialist by calling (877) 345-4633 or by visiting http://www.business.ca.gov/Programs/Permits.aspx.
In addition, in 1997 the CalGOLD program was established to assist businesses in finding the information they need to comply with environmental and other regulatory and permitting requirements. CalGOLD provides direct Internet links and contact information to state, local, regional, and federal permitting authorities. In addition, a number of current forms and permit applications are available on the site. To use CalGOLD visit www.calgold.ca.gov.
California State Trade and Export Promotion (California STEP) Project
The California STEP project is a three-year pilot trade and export initiative authorized by the federal Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. The STEP Program is designed to help increase the number of small businesses that are exporting and to raise the value of exports for those small businesses that are currently exporting so they can grow and create jobs. Services offered through the program include, but are not limited to, customized product/promotion localization assistance, matchmaking services connecting small businesses to potential customers, and follow up support to assist firms in closing deals.
In order to take advantage of the services provided under the STEP program, businesses must meet the following guidelines:
More information on the California STEP project can be found at:
http://www.californiastep.org.
Helpful Websites for Small Businesses
In addition to the programs and services mentioned above, there are a number of other websites that provide helpful information to small business owners, including, but not limited to, the following:
Company | Website | Purpose |
Business USA | http://business.usa.gov | Provides comprehensive information ? about government grants and programs available to small business owners. |
California Small Business ? Assistance Center | http://www.taxes.ca.gov/Small_Business_Assistance_Center | Provides a variety of tools to ? help small businesses understand and plan for their tax responsibilities. |
SCORE | http://www.score.org | Provides access to business ? planning and financial templates, as well as links to relevant business ? webinars. Offers access to local small business seminars located at offices ? all over the United States. |
Small Business Administration | http://www.sba.gov | Provides valuable tips, grant ? information, suggestions and help growing small businesses. |
California Association of ? Independent Business, Inc. | http://www.caib.net | Includes information on a range of ? small businesses? issues, including information on small business ? legislation. |
California Chamber of Commerce | http://www.calchamber.com | |
California Small Business ? Association | http://www.csba.com | |
National Federation of Independent ? Business | http://www.nfib.com | |
Small Business California | http://www.smallbusinesscalifornia.org |
Conclusion
Representing half of America?s workforce, small businesses are the backbone of our economy. As such, it is important that we start spreading the word about available programs and services that are in place to help businesses survive and thrive in California. Doing so may encourage entrepreneurship, and prevent long-standing small businesses from leaving the state.
California needs to remain a place where small business owners feel ?if I can make it there, I?ll make it anywhere.? Educating the public about these programs, and continuing to make them available to current or future entrepreneurs, will ensure the success of California?s Small Business population.
?
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Because of Local+ 2.0 Arenstein & Gallagher has seen:
? Higher search rankings
? Increased clicks to website
? Higher click through rates to website
Arenstein & Gallagher has been a valued LawInfo client since 2004, and has found much success using both our Directory and Website product. They were one of the first clients to take advantage of Local+ 2.0 and as a result, their firm currently ranks at the top of Google for the extremely competitive term ?Cincinnati Ohio criminal attorney.?
LawInfo recently introduced the Local+ 2.0 product and many clients are seeing great results. Local+ 2.0 helps increase your firm web visibility through comprehensive Google optimization techniques that help get your found online.
Find out how Local+ 2.0 can help increase your firm?s online marketing visibility. Contact a LawInfo representative today at (866) 707-2703.?
Source: http://newsletter.lawinfo.com/2013/01/28/40-traffic-increase-law-firm-local-2-0-case-study/
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Contact: Rebecca Fairbairn
Rebecca.Fairbairn@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22433
BioMed Central
Two articles in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine by Geoff Wong, Trisha Greenhalgh and colleagues, propose publication guidelines for both realist synthesis and meta-narrative reviews.
These are the first set of extensive guidelines covering the two types of analysis and will be invaluable to clinical researchers as well as journal editors. The standards were developed as part of the RAMESES (Realist And Meta-narrative Evidence Syntheses Evolving Standards) project. The RAMESES project is a NIHR funded international collaboration to produce such guidance and standards for these new forms of systematic review - Realist synthesis and Meta-narrative reviews. The guidelines are co-published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing and are freely accessible on Wiley Online Library.
There is growing interest in realist synthesis as an alternative systematic review method. This approach offers the potential to expand the knowledge base in policy-relevant areas - for example by explaining the success, failure or mixed fortunes of complex interventions. Meta-narrative review is one of an emerging menu of new approaches to qualitative and mixed-method systematic review.
A systematic review is a review done according to an explicit, robust and reproducible methodology. Author Geoff Wong explains, "For many years reviewers undertaking Cochrane reviews and meta-analyses have followed the PRISMA publication guidelines. Other forms of systematic review, oriented to summarising and synthesising quantitative, qualitative and/or mixed-method studies, are increasing in popularity, especially in the context of policymaking, but such approaches have up to now suffered from lack of systematic guidance or publication standards."
These new guidelines for realist synthesis and meta-narrative reviews are also expected to be welcomed by journal editors, as Jigisha Patel, Medical Editor at BioMed Central explains, "The provision of a clear set of publication reporting standards is important for researchers, editors and, most importantly, reviewers. By defining a standard framework for researchers to report their methods and findings they aid thorough peer-review and ensure that published research is consistent in its methodology. The RAMESES publication standards provides much needed clarity for these new forms of literature analysis, and the upcoming publication of quality assessment tools will be needed to complement these before researchers can follow the guidelines fully "
###
Media Contact
Rebecca Fairbairn
Public Relations Manager, BioMed Central
Mob: 44-782-525-7423
Notes to Editors
1. RAMESES Publication standards: meta-narrative reviews
Geoff Wong, Trish Greenhalgh, Gill Westhorp, Jeanette Buckingham and Ray Pawson
BMC Medicine 2013: 11:20 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-11-20
RAMESES Publication standards: realist syntheses
Geoff Wong, Trish Greenhalgh, Gill Westhorp, Jeanette Buckingham and Ray Pawson
BMC Medicine 2013: 11:21 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-11-21
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
Article citation and URL available on request on the day of publication.
2. BMC Medicine is the flagship medical journal of the BMC series, publishing original research, commentaries and reviews that are either of significant interest to all areas of medicine and clinical practice, or provide key translational or clinical advances in a specific field. @BMCMedicine
3. BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector. @BioMedCentral
4. The Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN) is a world-leading international peer reviewed Journal. It targets readers who are committed to advancing practice and professional development on the basis of new knowledge and evidence. JAN contributes to the advancement of evidence-based nursing, midwifery and healthcare by disseminating high quality research and scholarship of contemporary relevance and with potential to advance knowledge for practice, education, management or policy. http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/JAN
Wong G., Greenhalgh T. , Westhorp G., Buckingham J . & Pawson R. (2013) RAMESES publication standards: meta-narrative reviews. Journal of Advanced Nursing ,doi: 10.1111/jan.12092.
Wong G., Greenhalgh T. , Westhorp G., Buckingham J . & Pawson R. (2013) RAMESES publication standards: realist syntheses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, doi: 10.1111/jan.12095
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Contact: Rebecca Fairbairn
Rebecca.Fairbairn@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22433
BioMed Central
Two articles in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine by Geoff Wong, Trisha Greenhalgh and colleagues, propose publication guidelines for both realist synthesis and meta-narrative reviews.
These are the first set of extensive guidelines covering the two types of analysis and will be invaluable to clinical researchers as well as journal editors. The standards were developed as part of the RAMESES (Realist And Meta-narrative Evidence Syntheses Evolving Standards) project. The RAMESES project is a NIHR funded international collaboration to produce such guidance and standards for these new forms of systematic review - Realist synthesis and Meta-narrative reviews. The guidelines are co-published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing and are freely accessible on Wiley Online Library.
There is growing interest in realist synthesis as an alternative systematic review method. This approach offers the potential to expand the knowledge base in policy-relevant areas - for example by explaining the success, failure or mixed fortunes of complex interventions. Meta-narrative review is one of an emerging menu of new approaches to qualitative and mixed-method systematic review.
A systematic review is a review done according to an explicit, robust and reproducible methodology. Author Geoff Wong explains, "For many years reviewers undertaking Cochrane reviews and meta-analyses have followed the PRISMA publication guidelines. Other forms of systematic review, oriented to summarising and synthesising quantitative, qualitative and/or mixed-method studies, are increasing in popularity, especially in the context of policymaking, but such approaches have up to now suffered from lack of systematic guidance or publication standards."
These new guidelines for realist synthesis and meta-narrative reviews are also expected to be welcomed by journal editors, as Jigisha Patel, Medical Editor at BioMed Central explains, "The provision of a clear set of publication reporting standards is important for researchers, editors and, most importantly, reviewers. By defining a standard framework for researchers to report their methods and findings they aid thorough peer-review and ensure that published research is consistent in its methodology. The RAMESES publication standards provides much needed clarity for these new forms of literature analysis, and the upcoming publication of quality assessment tools will be needed to complement these before researchers can follow the guidelines fully "
###
Media Contact
Rebecca Fairbairn
Public Relations Manager, BioMed Central
Mob: 44-782-525-7423
Notes to Editors
1. RAMESES Publication standards: meta-narrative reviews
Geoff Wong, Trish Greenhalgh, Gill Westhorp, Jeanette Buckingham and Ray Pawson
BMC Medicine 2013: 11:20 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-11-20
RAMESES Publication standards: realist syntheses
Geoff Wong, Trish Greenhalgh, Gill Westhorp, Jeanette Buckingham and Ray Pawson
BMC Medicine 2013: 11:21 DOI: 10.1186/1741-7015-11-21
Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.
Article citation and URL available on request on the day of publication.
2. BMC Medicine is the flagship medical journal of the BMC series, publishing original research, commentaries and reviews that are either of significant interest to all areas of medicine and clinical practice, or provide key translational or clinical advances in a specific field. @BMCMedicine
3. BioMed Central is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector. @BioMedCentral
4. The Journal of Advanced Nursing (JAN) is a world-leading international peer reviewed Journal. It targets readers who are committed to advancing practice and professional development on the basis of new knowledge and evidence. JAN contributes to the advancement of evidence-based nursing, midwifery and healthcare by disseminating high quality research and scholarship of contemporary relevance and with potential to advance knowledge for practice, education, management or policy. http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/JAN
Wong G., Greenhalgh T. , Westhorp G., Buckingham J . & Pawson R. (2013) RAMESES publication standards: meta-narrative reviews. Journal of Advanced Nursing ,doi: 10.1111/jan.12092.
Wong G., Greenhalgh T. , Westhorp G., Buckingham J . & Pawson R. (2013) RAMESES publication standards: realist syntheses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, doi: 10.1111/jan.12095
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-01/bc-npg012513.php
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PlayerScale, which provides a range of backend services for game developers, is announcing today that its platform now has more than 100 million players.
Since PlayerScale is building the infrastructure rather than the games themselves, it?s unlikely that many of those 100 million actually think of themselves as ?PlayerScale users,? or are necessarily aware of the platform at all. Nonetheless, the announcement suggests that PlayerScale?s tools are being used by a broad audience of gamers. (CEO Jesper Jensen told me that users create in-game profiles and log in through Facebook, so while it?s possible that there are a few ?repeats,? for the most part these are unique users.)
The company?s offerings include integration with payments systems, multiplayer support, in-game chat, data management, and player matchmaking. It?s supposed to work on console, browser-based, PC/Mac, and mobile games. Jensen said the company focuses on ?the convergence of content from these sectors ? mobile, social and casual.?
PlayerScale is now being implemented across 4,000 games from more than 2,600 game developers, including SGN (Social Gaming Network, which has put a big emphasis on cross-platform development), Con Artist Games and 505 Games. One of the big goals, Jensen said, is to allow developers to focus on the creative aspects of game development, rather than the backend infrastructure.
The company was founded in 2011. It is self-funded and cash-flow positive.
PlayerScale? develops software infrastructure for cross-platform gaming. Their backend software gives gaming publishers and aggregators the ability to scale titles across casual, social and mobile platforms in a rapid and seamless manner.
? Learn moreSource: http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/28/playerscale-100-million/
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Jan. 28, 2013 ? IRCM researchers, led by endocrinologist Dr. R?mi Rabasa-Lhoret, were the first to conduct a trial comparing a dual-hormone artificial pancreas with conventional diabetes treatment using an insulin pump and showed improved glucose levels and lower risks of hypoglycemia. Their results, published January 28 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), can have a great impact on the treatment of type 1 diabetes by accelerating the development of the external artificial pancreas.
The artificial pancreas is an automated system that simulates the normal pancreas by continuously adapting insulin delivery based on changes in glucose levels. The dual-hormone artificial pancreas tested at the IRCM controls glucose levels by automatically delivering insulin and glucagon, if necessary, based on continuous glucose monitor (CGM) readings and guided by an advanced algorithm.
"We found that the artificial pancreas improved glucose control by 15 per cent and significantly reduced the risk of hypoglycemia as compared with conventional insulin pump therapy," explains engineer Ahmad Haidar, first author of the study and doctoral student in Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret's research unit at the IRCM and at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at McGill University. "The artificial pancreas also resulted in an 8-fold reduction of the overall risk of hypoglycemia, and a 20-fold reduction of the risk of nocturnal hypoglycemia."
People living with type 1 diabetes must carefully manage their blood glucose levels to ensure they remain within a target range. Blood glucose control is the key to preventing serious long-term complications related to high glucose levels (such as blindness or kidney failure) and reduces the risk of hypoglycemia (dangerously low blood glucose that can lead to confusion, disorientation and, if severe, loss of consciousness).
"Approximately two-thirds of patients don't achieve their target range with current treatments," says Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret, Director of the Obesity, Metabolism and Diabetes research clinic at the IRCM. "The artificial pancreas could help them reach these targets and reduce the risk of hypoglycemia, which is feared by most patients and remains the most common adverse effect of insulin therapy. In fact, nocturnal hypoglycemia is the main barrier to reaching glycemic targets."
"Infusion pumps and glucose sensors are already commercially-available, but patients must frequently check the sensor and adjust the pump's output," says Mr. Haidar. "To liberate them from this sizable challenge, we needed to find a way for the sensor to talk to the pump directly. So we developed an intelligent dosing algorithm, which is the brain of the system. It can constantly recalculate insulin dosing based on changing glucose levels, in a similar way to the GPS system in a car, which recalculates directions according to traffic or an itinerary change."
The researchers' algorithm, which could eventually be integrated as software into a smart phone, receives data from the CGM, calculates the required insulin (and glucagon, if needed) and wirelessly controls the pump to automatically administer the proper doses without intervention by the patient.
"The system we tested more closely mimics a normal pancreas by secreting both insulin and glucagon," adds Dr. Laurent Legault, peadiatric endocrinologist and outgoing Director of the Insulin Pump Centre at the Montreal Children's Hospital, and co-author of the study. "While insulin lowers blood glucose levels, glucagon has the opposite effect and raises glucose levels. Glucagon can protect against hypoglycemia if a patient with diabetes miscalculates the necessary insulin dose."
"Our work is exciting because the artificial pancreas has the potential to substantially improve the management of diabetes and reduce daily frustrations for patients," concludes Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret. "We are pursuing our clinical trials to test the system for longer periods and with different age groups. It will then probably be introduced gradually to clinical practice, using insulin alone, with early generations focusing on overnight glucose controls."
This study was conducted with 15 adult patients with type 1 diabetes, who had been using an insulin pump for at least three months. Patients were admitted twice to the IRCM's clinical research facility and received, in random order, both treatments: the dual-hormone artificial pancreas and the conventional insulin pump therapy. During each 15-hour visit, their blood glucose levels were monitored as they exercised on a stationary bike, received an evening meal and a bedtime snack, and slept at the facility overnight.
Dr. Rabasa-Lhoret's research is funded by Diabetes Qu?bec, the Canadian Diabetes Association, and the IRCM's J.A. De S?ve Chair in clinical research. IRCM collaborators who contributed to study include Maryse Dallaire, Ammar Alkhateeb, Ad?le Coriati, Virginie Messier and Maude Millette.
About diabetes
Type-1 diabetes is a chronic, incurable disease that occurs when the body doesn't produce enough or any insulin, leading to an excess of sugar in the blood. It occurs most often in children, adolescents or young adults. People with type-1 diabetes depend on insulin to live, either through daily injections or with a pump. Diabetes is a major cause of vision loss, kidney and cardiovascular diseases.
According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, an estimated 285 million people worldwide are affected by diabetes, approximately 10 per cent of which have type 1 diabetes. With a further 7 million people developing diabetes each year, this number is expected to hit 438 million by 2030, making it a global epidemic.?
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Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/IsBFXJa7YCU/130128151928.htm
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Jennifer Lawrence Battling Pneumonia
Jennifer Lawrence is reportedly very ill with pneumonia. The “Silver Linings Playbook” star, who is nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, has been forced to cancel appearances this week due to illness. Lawrence was unable to attend the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards on Saturday night, where she received the award for ...
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Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/01/jennifer-lawrence-battling-pneumonia/
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? posted on Saturday, January 26th, 2013 at 11:17 am by admin
Hiring a skilled professional who uses the high-quality materials and understands heating and AC system is the most essential step if you need repairs in your home. Multiple varieties of furnaces have been manufactured and they all have different advantages and disadvantages. Depending on your home and location, your utility bill and home temperature can improve greatly if you purchase an appropriate furnace. Cooling systems are also very unique and it is essential to purchase a system that operates effectively. When you hire a heating and air conditioning specialist, they will analyze your situation and help choose the tools that best meets your needs. They are also experienced in completing all varieties of repairs on these systems. Experience a large change in your year-round comfort with professional heating and air conditioning technicians by your side. Water Heaters Solon OH
Source: http://www.nwflaa.com/your-professional-specialists-for-heating-and-air-conditioning-repairs/
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Discuss Mexican black bean soup at the Food and Drink within the DigitalWorldz - Satellite, Cable, Console Forums; The blacks bean soup is a Mexican dish, very tasty and filling for the presence not only of vegetables, but also bacon that makes it really appetizing.
This bean soup is usually served with flour ...
The blacks bean soup is a Mexican dish, very tasty and filling for the presence not only of vegetables, but also bacon that makes it really appetizing.
This bean soup is usually served with flour tortillas, white bread and you can enjoy along with the bean soup.Ingredients
300 gr dried beans blacks
Bacon 150 gr
Chicken broth 1 lt
Red tomatoes 150 gr
2 cloves garlic
1 fresh chilli spicy
onions 1
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
Ground black pepper to taste
Salt as you like
Cinnamon 1 pinchMethod
Soak the beans blacks for 12 hours in cold water (do this in the evening prior to the preparation and let it soak overnight).
Rinse the beans and drain. Put in a pan with oil, pepper (whole or cut), onion and garlic, the whole piece of bacon and bay leaf,
saut? on low heat and then add the tomato cut into cubes , cinnamon, and ultimately blacks beans.
Add the chicken broth and cook for about 45 minutes over low heat, cover the pan with a lid, leaving a small vent. Once cooked beans, season with salt and pepper and serve the Mexican blacks bean soup accompanying it with white flour tortillas.For the tortillas I will post a new recipe for making it..
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Mexican black bean soup - Food and Drink - DigitalWorldz - Satellite, Cable, Console Forums;
The blacks bean soup is a Mexican dish, very tasty and filling for the presence not only of vegetables, but also bacon that makes it really appetizing.
This bean soup is usually served with flour tortillas, white bread and you can enjoy along with the bean soup.
Ingredients
300 gr dried beans blacks
Bacon 150 gr
Chicken broth 1 lt
Red tomatoes 150 gr
2 cloves garlic
1 fresh chilli spicy
onions 1
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
Ground black pepper to taste
Salt as you like
Cinnamon ...
Source: http://www.digitalworldz.co.uk/298879-mexican-black-bean-soup.html
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Being text of? the 2012/2013 Distinguished Lecture of Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji Arakeji, Osun State. Thursday, January 24th 2013.
?Trained talent is the yeast that transforms a society and makes it rise.?
? Lee Kuan Yew, former Prime Minister of Singapore in his ?From Third World to First: The Singapore Story, 1965-2000??
?
==========
Ladipo Adamolekun
PREAMBLE
I would like to thank the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sola Fajana, for inviting me to deliver the 2012/2013 Distinguished Lecture of Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU).? I understand that the Distinguished Lecture Series was introduced in the 2011/2012 academic session, JABU?s sixth year in existence.? I heartily congratulate JABU on the recent graduation of its fourth set of students.
While the topic of last year?s Lecture was broad-gauged ? ?Whither Nigeria? (delivered by versatile Professor Akin Oyebode) ? I?ve been requested to focus sharply on Nigeria?s Education sector. For almost four decades (1949-1988), I was continuously attached to one educational institution or another at primary, secondary and tertiary levels in succession. At the tertiary level, I studied and/or taught in several universities on the African continent, in Europe and in North America. I would add that I participated in academic conferences, seminars and workshops across all the continents from the early 1970s through the 1980s and 1990s to the early 2000s.? Consequently, some of the observations that I make in this Lecture draw on lessons learned from both good and bad practices across the continents.
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
The title of this Lecture, ?Education sector in Crisis? in reference to any country must be considered a cause for serious concern because of the great value attached to education world-wide.? It is widely acknowledged that education has social, economic, political, and security benefits for an individual, for a society and for a country: ?Education is almost everywhere considered as the key to economic prosperity and a vital instrument for combating disease, tackling poverty, and supporting sustainable development. ?At the international level, ?Education for All? (EFA), an initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) was launched in 1990.? Twenty-two years later, UNESCO?s parent organisation, the United Nations, launched ?Education First Initiative? that seeks to unite businesses, governments, nongovernmental organisations, teachers, parents and pupils in a 1,000-day campaign to get every child into quality education by the end of 2015. Former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who is UN special envoy for global education, put the case for the new Initiative as follows:
Under current trends, 50 million children worldwide will be out of school in 2025, and in 50 years education for all will remain a hollow dream?the cause of educational opportunity [is] the civil rights issue of our generation (bold and italics added)?Extending educational opportunity is a moral, economic and security imperative?
In-between these two initiatives, there was the United Nations Millennium Declaration of 2000 that included education as one of Eight (8) Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).? Specifically, according to MDG 2 the Goal is to ?attain universal primary education in all countries by 2015? and the Target is to ?ensure children of both sexes everywhere will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.? Nigeria joined 189 other countries world-wide to endorse the Declaration.
While there is broad agreement in the literature on education that it benefits both the individual and society, there is contestation on whether governments should pay more attention to primary education whose benefits to the society as a whole are very substantial than to tertiary education with huge benefits for the individual.? As will be demonstrated later in this Lecture, the argument over the relative benefits to individuals and to society is akin to the chicken and egg debate: without the quality products of tertiary education, quality primary education is unachievable and vice versa.
Strikingly, the success story of educational development in Western Nigeria in the 1950s and early 1960s was characterised by actions that respond to the issues raised in the preceding paragraphs.? A free universal primary education (UPE) programme was launched in January 1955 and politicians and civil servants collaborated to ensure its effective implementation. ?The public was mobilised in support of UPE: there was active involvement of communities, faith-based organisations, private entrepreneurs, and parents/adults through payment of taxes.? (Parents also provided uniforms and books for their children).
After a decade (that is, by 1965), primary education completion rate was between 80 and 100 per cent throughout Western Nigeria.? Furthermore, the launch of universal free primary education was accompanied by rapid expansion of post-primary education: 5-year Secondary/Grammar Schools and 3-Year Modern Schools. The latter were introduced to provide post-primary education for the hugely increased primary school leavers who could not gain admission to the Secondary/Grammar Schools. Simultaneously with the launch of UPE, teacher training was significantly scaled up through the expansion of colleges responsible for training teachers for primary and post-primary education.? Finally, in 1962, the Western Nigeria government established a university (University of Ife, later re-named Obafemi Awolowo University) and in 1963, Adeyemi College of Education was established. (For details on the Western Nigerian experience, see S. Gbadegesin, S.? and R. Sekoni, eds., 2010).
From the above summary it is obvious that the Western Nigeria experience has important lessons for all advocates of rapid educational development world-wide, with particular reference to universal primary education. Yes, UPE can be successfully implemented and yield huge dividends within a decade. The experience also demonstrates that successful implementation of UPE requires attention to secondary education, teacher training, and tertiary education.
After this Introduction, the Lecture is in three other parts.? In Part Two, I provide evidence of the crisis in Nigeria?s education sector that justifies the title, ?Education Sector in Crisis?.? Part Three highlights the major causes of the crisis.? In Part Four, I proffer some possible remedies that could help re-launch the country on the path to educational excellence.? In closing, I offer ?A Word for JABU: Challenge of Being Part of the Solution? and a ?Last Word?.
?
PART TWO: EVIDENCE OF CRISIS
The word ?evidence? is used here not in the legal sense but in the ordinary dictionary meaning such as what is provided in The New Oxford Dictionary of English: ?the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid?
Since I returned to the country about eight years ago, I have read reports in the country?s newspapers that constitute strong evidence of a crisis in the education sector at all levels: from primary education through secondary to tertiary education. From time to time, politicians, academics and opinion leaders either called for the declaration of a ?state of emergency? in the education sector or lamented what they consider as decline and decay in the education sector: while some affirm that 70 per cent of university graduates are unemployable because of their poor quality, others focus on the country?s slow progress towards meeting the MDG goal on completion of primary education by all school-age children (female and male) by 2015. It is sad to note that a national dialogue on ?Nigeria and Education: the challenges ahead? held almost two decades ago concluded that ?The nation must now consider seriously the desirability of declaring a five-year emergency? for the rescue of our educational system? (Akinkugbe, 1994, p. 329).
At the personal level, I was reminded of the lost era of educational excellence when in late 2000s, a taxi driver, who drove me in Lagos and who only completed Modern School education in the ?old? Western Nigeria, was more articulate in spoken English than some current first degree holders!
I summarise below selected ?facts? and ?information? on the decline and decay in the country?s education sector.
A.??????? Basic education: Low enrolment and low quality teachers
B.???????? Secondary education: students? poor performance records
C.??????? Universities: some specifics on decline
Source: Punch, Editorial, December 14th 2012
In addition to the above sector-specific illustrations, broad-gauged evidence of huge decline in?? all aspects of quality education measurement on an African comparative basis is provided in Table 1 below. ?It is based on the 2012 Mo Ibrahim Good Governance Index, Education Sub-Category of the Human Development Category. (The three other Categories of the Index are: Safety and Rule of Law; Participation and Human Rights; and Sustainable Economic Opportunity). The six indicators used to calculate the scores recorded in the Table are: education provision and quality, ratio of pupils to teachers in primary school, primary school completion, progression from primary to secondary education, tertiary education, and literacy. According to the evidence, education performance in Nigeria declined significantly between 2006 and 2011: score declined from 51% to 47.6% in and Nigeria?s rank declined from 21st to 30th.? It is striking that there was improvement across the continent: from an average of 49.4% score in 2006 to 53.8% in 2011, an increase of 4.4% contrasted with Nigeria?s decrease of 3.4%.
TABLE 1:
NIGERIA?S SCORE AND RANK IN EDUCATION SUB-CATEGORY,
MO IBRAHIM GOOD GOVERNANCE INDEX, 2006 ? 2011
YEAR | NIGERIA?S SCORE (%) | AFRICA?S AVERAGE SCORE (%) | NIGERIA?s RANK |
2006 | 51.0 | 49.4 | 21st |
2007 | 48.8 | 50.9 | 24th |
2008 | 48.2 | 50.8 | 25th |
2009 | 48.4 | 51.8 | 25th |
2010 | 49.0 | 53.6 | 28th |
2011 | 47.6 | 53.8 | 30th |
Change 2006 ? 2011 | -3.4 | + 4.4 | -9 |
NOTE
Nigeria?s poor performance in the Education sector is typical of the country?s performance in respect of all four Categories of the Mo Ibrahim Index in 2012: Nigeria dropped into the bottom 10 countries in the overall rankings for the first time: 14th out of the 16 countries in West Africa and 43rd out of the 52 countries in the Report ? Nigeria was 41st in 2011 and 37th in 2006.
PART THREE: CAUSES OF THE CRISIS
Three major causes of the crisis in the education sector are examined in this Lecture: (i) over-centralisation; (ii) implementation failure; and (iii) de-emphasis on the value of education and decline of the teaching profession. Some other causes of the crisis are linked in varying degrees to one or the other among the three main causes highlighted and they will also be mentioned, as appropriate.? The problem of corruption deserves special mention.? Although it is not highlighted as a major cause of the crisis, it will feature prominently as it is uniquely linked, in varying degrees, to both over-centralisation and implementation failure.
(i).??????? Over-centralisation ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Over-centralisation is, without question, a major cause of the crisis in the education sector and its origin is unarguably the intervention of the military in the governance of the country.? The fact that military rule lasted for almost three decades (one of the longest in Sub-Saharan Africa) and was extended by a former military ruler and strong believer in centralisation who served as the first civilian president from 1999 to 2007, has resulted in the entrenchment of over-centralisation in a constitutional federal system.? The following are five key misbegotten legacies of military-imposed centralisation in the education sector:
(a)? At the primary education level, former president Obasanjo, the civilianised military who served between 1999 and 2007, invented a role for the federal government in primary education that was different from what the 1999 Constitution prescribes: Universal Basic Education (UBE) was designed as a federal government policy and programme in defiance of the provision in the 1999 Constitution that assigns responsibility for primary education to state and local governments.? The role of the federal government in primary education is limited to prescribing minimum standards as provided in the Constitution?s Second Schedule, Exclusive Legislative List, 60 (e).? ?Sadly, two civilian presidents have maintained this usurpation.? Former president Yar?Adua committed to abandoning this bad practice but he died within a year that he turned his attention to the subject.? (?I have also directed that all laws be examined that go against the federal system so that they will be amended to be in conformity with the federal system of government? (interview with London?s Financial Times reported in various national newspapers, May 20/08).? President Jonathan appears to be agnostic on the subject. In this area, it would be correct to assert that there has been leadership failure.
(b)? The military established unitary secondary schools, again contrary to the assignment of this function to sub-national level governments in the 1963 Constitution it suspended: only higher education was on the Concurrent Legislative List.? Now, Federal government involvement in post-primary education is currently provided for in the 1999 Constitution: ?the National Assembly to establish institutions for post-primary education? (Second Schedule, Part II, Concurrent Legislative List, (28).? But federal role in running secondary schools would qualify as a Nigerian military invention ? more on this later.
(c)? At the tertiary education level, military over-centralisation was extended to the regulatory agency for the universities, the National Universities Commission (NUC).? From its initial role as a buffer between the universities and governments, the NUC under military rule was transformed into an over-powerful and control-oriented government parastatal with very extensive powers that were more consistent with the centralism and uniformity of military culture than with the autonomous mind-set of academic culture.
(d)? The operation of centralised labour unions for teachers at all levels that made sense under centralised unitary military rule has been maintained under civilian rule when the hierarchical federal-state relationship no longer exists, at least, according to the 1999 Constitution.? Thus, both the Nigeria Union of Teachers and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) negotiate salaries and other conditions of service at the federal level and the agreements become binding on state governments that did not participate in the negotiations.? Persistent strikes that are linked to the challenge of implementing the agreements reached at such negotiations continue to undermine teaching and learning in educational institutions, especially the universities.
(e)? Perhaps the most extensively debated issue in military-inherited over-centralisation is the over-sized share of the federal government in the federation account, to the disadvantage of the sub-national governments.? This affects all sectors but it is particularly pertinent in the education sector because the hi-jacked primary education function (UBE) highlighted above was used as the rationalization for the maintenance of the federal government?s lion?s share of the Federation account under president Obasanjo.? Notwithstanding President Jonathan?s experience in sub-national governance, he appears to have adjusted nicely to the prevailing skewed revenue sharing arrangement. ?Well, he is the top dog now. Thus, he has ignored the persistent sensible call of Nigeria?s Governors? Forum for the modification of the existing unbalanced revenue allocation formula (52.68 to federal government, 26.72 to state governments, and 20.6 to local governments). ?And he is strangely comfortable with the failure of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the National Assembly to act on the subject.
(ii)??????? Implementation Failure
Implementation failure can be due to either weak capacity to implement or the lack of political will to drive implementation. As pointed out in Part One, the UPE in Western Nigeria was successfully implemented because of the combination of a political leadership team with the will to drive its implementation and a competent civil service (also reputed as incorruptible) to execute the policy and deliver results on the ground in respect of both UPE and other aspects of educational development.
In contrast to the Western Nigerian experience, the UPE introduced at the national level in 1976 failed because there was no sustained political will to drive it.? Throughout the civilian interregnum of 1979-1983 and the return of the military for extended rule, the policy was abandoned. As already pointed out, the successor UBE that was launched in 2004 has achieved rather limited results. Muddled political responsibility for UBE has been a major constraint and centralised implementation (for example, contracts for purchase of textbooks for students in all 36 states are awarded in Abuja) has hindered federal-state collaboration that is essential for effective implementation. ?And there have been reports of corrupt practices associated with some UBE contracts.? ??Although there has been an emphasis on enhancing the professionalism of primary and secondary education teachers and improving their conditions of service to promote improved implementation capability, the political muddle combined with the inherent weakness of centralised implementation appear to have doomed a federal-driven UBE to failure.
A telling commentary on the weakness of the National Assembly (NASS), the apex watchdog institution charged with assuring effective implementation of government policies and programmes, is the poor education of its members: ?Some National Assembly members can barely write their names ? Ekweremadu? (Punch, October 16th 2012).? (Ekweremadu is the Deputy President of the Senate). To date, all the oversight missions of the National Assembly in respect of the different sectors, including education, are tales of corrupt practices without a single MDA being made to account for implementation failure: teams of senators and representatives strut the land and return to Abuja with additional millions to their obscene self-allocated salaries.? For example, NASS committees would rather descend on educational institutions for the usual extra earnings than organise a public hearing on how best to fix the 6-3-3-4 education system that is widely acknowledged as not being properly implemented.
(iii).????? De-emphasis on the value of education and decline of the teaching profession
It is incontrovertible that Nigerians across all the three/four regions valued education highly up to the emergence of military politicians whose culture and actions progressively resulted in a de-emphasis on the value of education.? It would not be unfair to assert that the politicians in khaki had limited understanding of educational excellence, notwithstanding the fact that a few of them decided to obtain university degrees, most often after retirement from service.? Because the military remained in power for so long (close to three decades), their anti-education orientation (or anti-intellectualism) had replaced the pre-military high value of education across the country.? Today, restoring high value for education in the Nigerian society has become a tough challenge.
My father travelled to Lagos during the First World War and encountered western education.? He returned to his community in Iju, Akure North to become a propagandist for education. Due to his example and inspiration, Iju had one of the highest concentrations of educated people (in proportion to total population) in the country at his death.? I am sure that similar stories abound of propagandists for education of my father?s generation in communities across the country.? It was on this fertile soil that Awolowo?s UPE seed was sown; and it flourished as already highlighted above.
Unfortunately, worship of money that accompanied the military?s anti-intellectualism appears to have replaced love for education.? Paradoxically, a former military ruler, Ibrahim Babangida, whose tenure was characterised by notable anti-intellectual measures, recently summed up the prevailing value (less) order as follows: ?Knowledge has no value while money and power has (sic) more value? (The Nation, November 25th 2012).? Even those who commit resources to education today appear to be spurred on by love of money, that is, the ever-increasing number of for-profit educational institutions from kindergarten, through primary to secondary and tertiary education.? The lack of distinction between for-profit and not-for-profit educational institutions in the country is almost certainly linked to the fact that office holders who ought to have championed making the distinction (including imposition of tax on the for-profit institutions) are guilty of benefitting from this cheating, another form of corruption.? It needs to be corrected without further delay.
It is important to stress the linkage of the de-emphasis on the value of education to the decline of the teaching profession.? In the 1950s and 1960s teachers at all levels were highly valued in the Nigerian society.? Primary and secondary school teachers were respected and trusted in communities across the country and teachers in tertiary institutions were acknowledged as a distinguished elite group.? That was also the era of educational excellence. Then, in 1973/74, military politicians and higher civil servants combined to rubbish the elite status of university teachers through the brash ?quit notice? from campus accommodation and the imposition of relative disadvantage in the context of a so-called post-Udoji re-alignment of salaries and wages in the public sector (Adamolekun and Gboyega, 1979).? Although ASUU has, through prolonged struggles, succeeded in achieving decent improvements in salary levels for universities, the rubbished elite status has persisted, sustained, in part, by the numerous strikes that have accompanied the Association?s struggles, and in part, by the dominance of money culture within the society.
The decline in public respect for, and trust in, primary and secondary education-level teachers started at about the same time as was the case for university teachers.? Beginning from the early 1980s, the decline was accentuated partly by wrong-headed policies that made teaching at these levels unattractive (mission and elite schools were taken over by governments and all were progressively reduced to mediocrity) and partly by neglect (low salaries, poor working environment and lack of incentives). The result was poor performing teachers and decline in standards.? Efforts aimed at restoring teacher professionalism that could, in turn, raise standards and enable teachers to regain public respect and trust have so far recorded limited success.? In some instances, the teachers and their Union are resisting reform, thereby perpetuating the prevailing decline.
PART FOUR: POSSIBLE REMEDIES OR PATH TO EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE
?In all, I propose five (5) possible remedies: (i) devolve educational development, (ii) increase funding for education, (iii) ensure reliability of education statistics, (iv) leapfrog use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education; and (v) enhance university autonomy.
1. ??????? Devolve educational development
According to the Compulsory, Free, Universal Basic Education Act, 2004, ?the Federal government?s intervention under this Act shall only be an assistance to the States and Local Governments in Nigeria for the purpose of uniform and qualitative basic education throughout Nigeria?.? After eight years of implementation, enrolment in primary education falls far below MDG target and the ?assistance? of the federal government to Junior Secondary Schools that caused management nightmares for states has resulted in ?unified?, 6-year secondary schools in many states.? In these circumstances, I would recommend that the UBE Act should be repealed and the share of national revenues hi-jacked for the purpose by the Federal government should be shared among the states and local governments.
Full responsibility for achieving quality basic education (interpreted as 9 or 12 years, preferably the latter) belongs to these sub-national governments.? And it is only at these two levels that communities can be successfully mobilized for ownership of, and participation in, primary and secondary education ? as was the case in the ?old? Western Nigeria. ?Predictably, some states will perform better than others, reflecting differences in quality of leadership, political party orientation (there could be significant differences within the same party in different states), and level of administrative competence.? However, the resulting diversity would contribute more to reducing the number of school age children out of school than the poor performance recorded during the period of centralism and uniformity.
Furthermore, in the absence of empirical evidence to support the facile assertion regarding the usefulness of the so-called unity secondary schools (102+) for promoting national integration, the federal government should choose one of the following two options: either transfer the schools to state governments together with the annual budgetary allocation (pending the adoption of a new revenue allocation formula) or embrace the public private partnership for running the schools that was adopted during president Obasanjo?s final year but abruptly abandoned under president Yar?Adua.? It is worth adding that according to the Report of the Presidential Task Force on Education, the unity schools ?do not appear to be sources of excellence in secondary education and cannot be model for the States and other School Proprietors ? one of the reasons for establishing them in the first instance.?
2. ??????? Increase funding for education
Perhaps the first point to make is that Nigeria has sufficient financial resources for ensuring adequate financing of education at all levels.? According to newspaper reports in August 2012, the World Bank had estimated that about $400 billion oil money was stolen or mismanaged in the country between 1960 and mid-2012 of which over $250 billion between 1999 and mid-2012. According to another report, between 2006 and 2009, Federal government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (including law-enforcement units) failed to remit about N4 trillion to the Federation account. That translates to NI trillion per annum or 25% of the annual budget for those years. Furthermore, according to a Sunday Punch investigation (published on November 25th 2012), ?Over 5 trillion naira (about ($31billion) funds have been stolen through fraud, embezzlement and theft since President Jonathan assumed office in 2010?.
TABLE 2:
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EDUCATION EXPENDITURE, 2009 ? 2013
?
2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
N224.7bn |
(10.6%)N271.2bn ? (6.4%)N306.3bn ? (6.2%)N400.2bn (8.4%)N426.5bn (8.7%)
In these circumstances, federal government?s education expenditure (actual for 2009-2011 and budgeted for 2012 and 2013) is grossly inadequate.??? This low level of funding needs to be significantly increased, beginning with the 2014 budget: a modest target would be 16 per cent, that is, double the average for 2009-2013, but still far below the desirable UNESCO?s recommended 26 per cent. ?According to the Report of the Committee on Needs Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities (2012), state governments also underfund education.? The situation in one state university was so pathetic that the Committee recommended ?Declaration of state of emergency in the university?.
Against this backdrop, it is important to mention the additional funds mobilised for the education sector through education taxes (introduced in 1993) and collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). (Total amount collected between 2008 and 2011 was about N400 billion).? Until 2011, all levels of education benefited from the fund, called Education Trust Fund.? By the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) Act 2011, proceeds of education taxes were to benefit only tertiary education institutions: universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.? Furthermore, NUC recently introduced the High Impact Intervention Fund for selected universities in geopolitical zones but its disbursement lacks predictability.
Notwithstanding these additional sources of funding, the financing gap in public universities remains huge. Today, there is strong support in the public universities for the introduction of fees.? This viewpoint has merit, taking into account developments in the university sector world-wide.? However, policy reform in this direction would need to be accompanied with an appropriate mix of scholarships, bursaries? and loans that would ensure that no Nigerian who is qualified for university education in a public institution is denied the opportunity because of his/her inability to pay prescribed fees.? An essential prior action to the introduction of tuition fees in public universities would be for the Federal Government to provide substantial capital fund for the take-off and effective functioning of the Nigerian Education Bank (EDUBANK Nigeria), established by law in 1994 as successor to the Students Loans Board that was repealed by the same law.
3. ??????? Ensure availability of reliable education statistics
An important dimension to the crisis in the education sector is the weakness of the statistical underpinnings of the national education system:? ?That data (both hard figures and soft explanations) are virtually non-existent and un-useable in the education system is an undisputed truism? (Report of the Presidential Task Team on Education, p. 17). Again, it is through a devolved approach that reliable education statistics can be produced and made available for the use of relevant stakeholders.? State governments need to provide appropriate incentives (a mix of sanctions and rewards) to local governments to ensure that they keep comprehensive data on childhood and primary education.? And state governments need to acknowledge and accept that they cannot achieve quality education without robust education statistics.? At the federal level, collaborative effort between the National Bureau of Statistics and the Federal Ministry of Education would be a sensible strategy for tackling this problem. The objective at both the federal and state levels should be, as recommended in the Report of the Presidential Task Team on Education, the establishment of ?functional educational management information systems (EMIS) that would facilitate evidence-based decision making in the sector.
4. ??????? Leapfrog use of ICT in education
Although ICT penetration is still low in the country, due partly to epileptic electricity supply and partly to broadband challenge, its role in helping to enhance teaching and learning has been embraced in several states. For example, a few states have provided laptops for students and teachers in secondary schools.? Ensuring regular electricity supply and scaling up broadband penetration from the current 6 per cent to the 20 per cent promised for 2017 are the conditions that would make leapfrogging use of ICT in education a reality across the country.? In the meantime, public and private secondary schools and universities that are able to successfully tackle both the electricity and broadband challenges can leapfrog to join other countries such as South Korea and USA in improving the quality of education through online/digital teaching and learning (see Box 1.)
?BOX 1:
PROGRESS TOWARDS DIGITAL EDUCATION IN SOUTH KOREA AND USA
?1. Around 30% of all college students are learning online ? up from less than 10% in 2002.
2. New online Western Governors University [founded in 1997 by 19 Governors]: Tuition costs less than $6,000 a year, compared to $54,000 at Harvard.? Students can study and take their exams when they want, not when the sabbaticals, holidays and scheduling of teaching staff allow. The average time to completion is just two-and-a-half years.
3. Massive open online courses (MOOCS) offer free college-level classes taught by renowned lecturers to all-comers? they are part of a trend towards the unbundling of higher education.
Source: ?Higher Education ? Not what it used to be? in Economist, December 1st 2012
?Over the next few years, textbooks should be obsolete?
? Arne Duncan, US Secretary for Education
?One of the most wired countries in the world, South Korea, has set a goal to go fully digital with its textbooks by 2015? Over the last two years, at least 22 states have taken major strides toward digital textbooks? In California, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a pair of bills in September aiming to make his state a national leader in electronic college textbooks.
Source: Washington Post (Washington, D.C.), October 2nd 2012
A California law that will become effective in 2013-2014 school year, allows college students to download up to 50 core textbooks for free in the form of e-books. The e-books are for classes at the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges. The state has also established the California Open Education Resources Council for e-books.???? Source: Information accessed online on October 3rd 2012
5. ??????? Enhance university autonomy
The final possible remedy that I proffer is sharply focused on universities for two reasons.? First, I have been involved longer in this apex of the education sector than in the two other sub-sectors.? Second, I strongly believe that just as the fish gets rotten from the head, it would be correct to assert that the rot in the Nigerian education sector is most severe at the apex.? As soon as tangible improvements are recorded at that level, they are very likely to cascade down to polytechnics, secondary schools and primary schools.
(a)??? There is urgent need for a critical review of the functions of the NUC.? Currently, its functions include setting academic standards, inspecting and monitoring the standards and accrediting the universities. There is strong evidence that it?s centralized, domineering, and unified approach stifles experimentation and initiative at the level of individual universities (public and private). NUC appears unwilling to accept that uniformity and excellence are antithetical. The inability of universities to determine their curricula, subject to oversight through accreditation, derogates from university autonomy. ?I would also recommend that NUC?s accreditation function be hived off (together with staff and resources) and assigned to a separate independent statutory body that would not be tied to the apron strings of the Federal Ministry of Education and the Presidency.? This will be more consistent with a university education landscape where private universities constitute 40 per cent of the current 125 total (see Appendix 1). The Accreditation Board/Council will be exclusively concerned with accrediting public and private universities as is the case in Ghana, for example.
(b)?? There should be an immediate end to the operational subordination of universities to both the NUC and the Federal Ministry of Education that results in key officers of the institutions spending a significant proportion of time in Abuja instead of working on their campuses. According to Dr. Nasir Fagge, incumbent president of ASUU, ?You will find out that circulars are emanating in most cases from the National Universities Commission, interfering in the day-to-day running of the universities? (The Nation, Nov. 30th 2012). This bad practice undermines university autonomy.
(c)??? A critical aspect of university autonomy is the right to admit their students.? That right was taken away from Nigerian universities by the military that wrongly decided to centralise admission to all universities through the establishment of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in 1977.? At the time, there were only twelve (12) universities, all owned by the federal government (four of them through what would qualify as forceful take over).? Although there has been more than tenfold increase in the number of universities (see Appendix 1) of which 40 per cent are privately-owned, the wrong-headed and disabling centralised admission policy is still in force.? Centralised admission should come to an end with the 2013/14 admission. This action will help to restore a crucial dimension of autonomy to Nigerian universities, both public and private.? The established basic university admission requirement will be maintained: a minimum of five (5) credits, including English and Mathematics, in WAEC or NECO.
A WORD FOR JABU: CHALLENGE OF BEING PART OF THE SOLUTION
The opening paragraph of the ?Brief on JABU? sheds light on the university?s focus on what has become accepted as a possible solution to the production of unemployed/unemployable graduates: ?Taking cognizance of the unacceptably high rate of unemployment of university graduates in the country, Joseph Ayo Babalola University intends to give all its graduates the capacity for self-employment, thereby making them self-reliant and self-sustaining, in addition to turning them into an effective army of human capital for the nation and vanguard in the war against societal ills?.? Indeed, JABU prides itself as ?The First Entrepreneurial University in Nigeria?.
However, there is a huge obstacle posed by the combination of epileptic electricity, poor transportation (roads and railways) and limited broadband penetration to both entrepreneurship development within the university and opportunities for self-employment after graduation.?? (The flight of medium and multinational manufacturing and industrial enterprises ? with the exception of oil and gas and telecom ? from our shores since the 2000s is testimony to this challenge ? only foreign retail shops are flocking into Nigeria). ?I expect that JABU, as a private university, is implementing coping mechanisms that would enable it fulfil its promise to students: ?No matter your area of study, we take you through entrepreneurial training to make you a potentially self-employed graduate and an employer of labour, without diminishing from the content and quality of your degree and ability to pursue postgraduate studies?.
The second area where JABU can make a difference would be through translating its commitment ?to seek and impart knowledge with high ethical standard? (bold added) to mean a campus culture that is underpinned by ethical values such as excellence, integrity, responsibility, and service.? And it is essential that the values are shared by all members of the community, especially the teachers.? Students that graduate with these values are likely to stand out in the society as diligent and incorruptible men and women in their places of work.? For JABU graduates to be recognised nation-wide as incorruptible would be an important contribution to the healing of a debilitating national disease.
Third and finally, for JABU to be in the vanguard of Nigerian universities that would be competitive both at the African and international levels, its leaders would need to seek to meet most of the following criteria that are used in recognising ?elite? universities world-wide within the shortest time possible.
Source: Adegoke (2012). ?Adegoke adds that ?funding is key to development of world class status? and stresses the critical role of various types of endowments.
LAST WORD
My last word is the following: get education right, and you are on the path to prosperity and peace; get it wrong, and poverty and insecurity will deepen and persist.? For Nigeria to graduate from the miserable league of Middle-Income, Failed or Fragile States (MIFFS), (alias, ?poor little richer kids? ? Economist, July 23rd 2011), getting education right is the pre-eminent condition. I fully share the viewpoint of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore?s founding leader, that ?Trained talent is the yeast that transforms a society and makes it rise.? ?It is only through quality education that Nigeria can become a strong emerging economy within a decade or two: it holds the key to unlock progress in all spheres of development ? social, political, economic, and technological.
I thank you all for your attention
REFERENCES
Adamolekun, L. 2007. Challenges of university governance in Nigeria: reflections of an old fogey.? Convocation Lecture delivered at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Ondo State.
Adamolekun, L. and A. Gboyega. 1979. (eds). Leading Issues in Nigerian Public Service, Ile-Ife, University of Ife Press.
Adegoke, O. 2012. ?What it takes to develop world class universities?, paper presented at 5th Forum of Laureates of the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM), Abuja, December 4th 2012.
Akinkugbe, O.1994. Nigeria and education. The challenges ahead.? Proceedings and policy recommendations of the 2nd Obafemi Awolowo Foundation Dialogue. Ibadan: Spectrum Books
Brown, G. ?Education for all.? For disenchanted youth, salvation may lie in school?, The Washington Post, September 30th 2012
Effah, P. and A. Hofman (eds.). 2010. Regulating tertiary education. Ghanaian and international perspectives.? Accra: Ghana Universities Press.
Federal Republic of Nigeria. 2011. Report of the Presidential Task Team on Education. Main Report (Volume I)
__________. 2012. Committee on Needs Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities. Main Report.
Gbadegesin, S.? and R. Sekoni (eds.).? 2010. Legacy of Educational Excellence. Essays Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Universal Free Primary Education in Western Nigeria, 1955-2000. Mitcheville, MD, USA: Pinnacle Publications
Universal Basic Education Commission. 2005. The Compulsory, Free, Universal Basic Education Act, 2004 and Other Related Matters.
APPENDIX 1
DISTRIBUTION OF 125 NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES BY OWNERSHIP, DECEMBER 2012
?
YEARS | FEDERAL | STATE | PRIVATE | REMARKS |
1948 -1969 | 5 | - | - | |
1970 -1979 | 8 | 1 | - | Only 12 federal universities had been established by 1977. |
1980 -1989 | 9 | 6 | - | |
1990 ? 1999 | 3 | 6 | 3 | All 3 private universities were established in 1999 |
2000 ? 2009 | 2 | 20 | 38 | Decade of huge expansion: 60 new universities |
2010 ? 2012 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 50 private universities were established within 13 years, 1999-2012. |
TOTAL | 37 | 38 | 50 | Private universities constitute 40% of Total. |
Source: National Universities Commission Website ? accessed on December 17th 2012.
Note: 53 ?Illegal Degree Awarding Institutions (Degree Mills)? were also listed on the website with the following comment: ?This list of illegal institutions is not exhaustive?.
[Ladipo Adamolekun, an Oxford University D. Phil., is? one of Ondo State's Nine (9) of Nigeria's Sixty-Seven (67)? National Merit Awardees.? A former Dean of the Faculty of Administration at Ife and a former Lead Public Sector Management Specialist at The World Bank, Adamolekun is now an Independent Scholar.]
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