Merit Research Journal of Education and Review

092-103

Authors: Daniel Letoiye

Wide-ranging wildlife species in Northern Kenya have been facing immense pressure due to intensification of human activities in their natural habitats. This pressure has resulted in the decline of these species populations. Successful conservation should therefore address both species numbers and their habitat. This paper reports on a study of human activities and Grevy’s zebra habitat use in Northern Kenya, a case study of Meibae Community Conservancy. Participatory mapping, community workshops, Geographic Information System (GIS), ground truthing and use of global positioning system (GPS) radio collars were used to identify all human activities in the area and ecological areas important to Grevy’s zebra. The community-drawn maps were digitized; the resulting map was overlaid with the other layers of data collected by radio collars and ground truthing to compare with these parameters. In this example human activities are so intensive, that, nearly all the Grevy’s zebra habitats were converted into settlement areas. In addition most of these important ecological zones have been highly degraded by repeated human activities. Regression analysis was run and showed 85% negative correlation between Grevy’s zebra movement and human settlement. Analyses presented here are not only significant to species conservation, but are important in informing land use planning for sustainable biodiversity conservation and also restoring both species numbers and their habitat. For sustainable wildlife conservation in Northern Kenya, establishment of community owned conservancies, strengthening community benefits and developing sound land use planning will minimize human/wildlife conflict. This community-driven framework will also reconcile the existence of all parties. By doing this it will improve community livelihoods and instill a sense of ownership of wildlife and other natural resources. Keywords: Grevy’s Zebra, Habitat, Participatory Mapping, GIS, Settlements, Livestock.

085-091

Authors: Bryson D. Kinyaduka and Joyce F. Kiwara

The purpose of this paper is to: identify sexual advance points; reasons for a male teacher approaching a female student; examine reporting status by a female student on her male teacher sexual advances and identify responsible teacher category. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design. The study used questionnaire to gather information required. It was found that sexual advances began in school offices, premises, along the road and in tuition centres. Teacher power, student need for favour, female student beauty and teacher’s lust were found to be main reasons for a male teacher approaching a female student. It was further found that most female students did not report the vice. Lastly, it was found that both mainstream school and private tutor teachers approached their female students. The study concludes that secondary schools are not immune from amorous relationship. The study recommends a formulation of student-teacher relationship policy among others. Keywords: Sexual relationship, Mainstream school teacher, Female student, Male teacher, Private tutor

077-084

Authors: Glory Onoyeyan, Lawrence Ajayi, Odunola Adesina and Itunu A. Bamidele

This study assessed ethical concerns faced by practicing librarians in federal, state and private universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Questionnaire was the tool used for data collection. The study population consisted of the 50 professional librarians from Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB), Abeokuta, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye and Babcock Unviersity, Ilishan-Remo. The respondents consisted a total of the 50 practicing librarians from the three selected universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. A total of 50 questionnaires were administered on all the respondents and 44 questionnaires were retrieved and analyzed given a response rate of 88%. A descriptive statistical method was used to analyze the data displayed in tables and percentages. Findings from the study shows that intellectual property rights issues are the highest ethical issue confronting librarians. The study also shows that abusing confidential information and using official position for personal advantage are perceived as high unethical behaviour among librarians. The study also reveals that a majority of librarians do not have a copy of the Librarians’ Registration Council of Nigeria Code of Ethics. Based on the findings, recommendations were proffered. Keywords: Professional ethics, Librarians, Ethical dilemma, Code of ethics, Ogun State, Nigeria

062-076

Authors: Barzegar Kazem and Hemmati Fatemeh

This paper evaluated the ESD textbook (English for the Students of Dentistry) using McDonough and Shaw’s (2003) internal and external evaluation model and the ACTEFL Evaluation Checklist to examine its appropriacy for the target situation. The researcher has reviewed and presented sixteen evaluation models produced by various applied linguists. The external and internal evaluation of the textbook showed that it cannot be used as the core materials for the ESD course in its present format and state. Also, based on standards of the ACTEFL Evaluation Checklist, the textbook scored 33 out of 100 points indicating that it does not observe the features of an acceptable material for the target situation. Some useful recommendations are presented for adapting and improving this textbook to meet the required criteria. The weak and strong points of the textbook are discussed in details. Keywords: Textbook, Materials: EAP, ESD, Internal Evaluation, External Evaluation, The ACTEFL Evaluation Checklist, Dentistry, Iran.

054-061

Authors: Aamir Majeed and Dr. Fauzia Janjua

In this paper it has been tried to study apology speech acts in Urdu with the special reference to the gender. How different genders express apologies in different situations, is the main focus of this paper. The data is collected through an open questionnaire from the students of National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad in 2010. The questionnaire consists of ten social situations and in each situation the respondent has committed an offence to someone and is asked to apologize with that person. The offence affected persons belong to different social backgrounds and have different relations with the respondents from more formal to more informal. There is also the difference between the age of the respondent and his/her interlocutors and also in the degree of offence committed. Keeping in mind the time limits, 25 students (15 males and 10 females) were chosen for the data collection. Data has been analyzed with the help of the model proposed in the project of Cross-Cultural Speech Act Realization Pattens which was initiated in 1982 by Blum-Kulka and Olshtain (Blum-Kulka et al., 1989). The findings reveal that girls seemed to be more conscious about their face wants and they used less dangerous strategies even with their friends and siblings more than the boys. However while apologizing in formal settings both adopted similar types of strategies. Keywords: Apology Speech Acts, CCSARP, Positive/Negative Face Wants, Formulaic Strategies, Social Distance, Social Dominance