IMPROVING MAINTENANCE CULTURE AND QUALITY OF PUBLIC PROPERTIES IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF AKWA IBOM INTERNATIONAL STADIUM) -

1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY:  The Advanced Learners Dictionary defines maintenance as the process of protecting or preserving someone or something, or the process of keeping something in good condition. Culture, on the other hand, is a way of life, a lifestyle, customs, traditions, habits that portray the attributes of a person/people.

Maintenance culture is an attitude which is sadly lacking in Nigeria, whether in the home, office, school or factory. Mbamali (2003) added that poor maintenance culture has become a widely recognized problem in Nigeria which has poorly affected the quality of public properties. Public property is property that is dedicated to public use and is a subset of state property. The term may be used either to describe the use to which the property is put, or to describe the character of its ownership (owned collectively by the population of a state). This is in contrast to private property, owned by an individual person or artificial entities that represent the financial interests of persons, such as corporations. State ownership, also called public ownership, government ownership or state property, are property interests that are vested in the state, rather than an individual or communities (Wikipedia, 2015).

Maintenance culture in Nigeria is one of the lowest around the world, especially, in our principal towns and cities where the majority of public properties are located. In the rural areas, the story is different and pleasant to hear. The traditional practice of communal clearing of community owned places such as market playground is in almost every village and in private homes. Also, it is customary to refurbish building interiors with mixtures of cow dung or natural red clay. The end result is attractive and totally indigenous. According to Wahab (1995) the nation accords low priority to property management leading to neglect of public properties. Mbamali (2003) asserted that we have no maintenance policy and therefore no such culture exists. Neglect of maintenance has accumulated consequences in rapid increase in the deterioration of the fabric and finishes of a building, accompanied by a harmful effect on the contents occupants Seeley, (1987). Inadequate maintenance culture is a peculiar feature of almost every public building in Nigeria. According to Rotimi and Mtallib (1995) is partly due to poor maintenance culture on one hand and partly due to the absence of an appropriate benchmark. Gurjit (1990) asserted that lack of proper maintenance culture bring the life of these public building last before reaching the total obsolescence state. The declining maintenance culture in Nigeria and its effect on public buildings and all other properties has become a major problem to the government at various levels. This study examines ways of improving maintenance culture and its effect on quality of public properties

A great portion of a nation wealth is evident in the total value of its public properties and buildings; it is also an important factor in the production of the building to be preserved. A poorly maintained building in a decaying environment depresses the quality of live and contributes in some measures to anti social behaviour which threatens the socio" political environment it finds itself in According to Stephen (2002) public properties services rarely perform as well as desired. The causes emanate from deficiencies in design, construction, commissioning and maintenance, many researchers have also observed that the generators of maintenance problems could be looked upon has caused during the design stage or construction stage or initiated during the usage stage or the user’s carefree attitudes (Bad maintenance culture) which will eventually deteriorate the condition of the property. He further said that all these could be planned for during the design stage. Maintenance problems though do manifest during the use of the building, their causes might be during the design stage. These made Dekker (2002) to assert that thinking on the maintenance should start in the design phase. According to Speight (2000), it is at the design stage that the maintenance burden can be positively influenced for better or for worse. Where the designer fails to make adequate consideration for minimizing maintenance problems, it always turns out to be a big problem when the building is eventually occupied for usage, the consideration for effective maintenance as one of the parameters for the building design. Seeley (1997) also said that a skilful design can reduce the amount of maintenance work and also make it easier to perform, since good maintenance begins on the drawing board.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:  Oladimeji (1996) further described maintenance of public properties as the combination of any continuous actions carried out to retain a property in or restore it to an acceptable condition. Onwuka (1989) stated that maintenance culture is concerned with the planning and control of construction resources to ensure that necessary repairs and renewal are carried out with maximum efficiency and economy to enhance the quality of the property. However, the researcher is examining the ways of improving maintenance culture and quality of public properties in Nigeria.

1.3   OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:  The following are the objectives of this study:

1. To examine ways of improving maintenance culture in Nigeria.
2. To determine ways of enhancing the quality of public properties through improved maintenance culture.
3. To determine the factors affecting maintenance culture in Nigeria.
4. What are the ways of improving maintenance culture in Nigeria?
5. What are the ways of enhancing the quality of public properties through improved maintenance culture?
6. What are the factors affecting maintenance culture in Nigeria.

1.4   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:  The following are the significance of this study:

1. The findings from this study will educate the government and policy makers, stakeholders in building and the general public on the need for improvement in maintenance culture as a way of improving the quality of public property.
2. This research will also serve as a resource base to other scholars and researchers interested in carrying out further research in this field subsequently, if applied will go to an extent to provide new explanation to the topic

15   SCOPE/LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:  This study on improving maintenance culture and quality of public properties in Nigeria will cover the attitude of Nigerians to the adequate maintenance of public properties, looking at ways to improve maintenance culture with a view to improve the quality of public properties.

1.6 LIMITATION OF STUDY: Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

REFERENCES:  Dekker, B. (2002). Application of maintenance optimization models; a review and analysis on reliability engineering and system safety lsevier science ltd. Northern Ireland Gurjit, L. (1990). The Surveyor and Establishing a maintenance management system for cinema building maintenance vol. 3, American business journal Mbamali, P. (2003). The Impact of accumulation deferred maintenance on selected buildings of Two Federal Universities in the Northwest zone of Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Science vol 3 (17) . Oladimeji, A.B. 1996. ‘Budgeting, Costing and Cost Control in Maintenance Engineering and Management”, being a paper delivered at a 3-Day Course organized by the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Osogbo Branch at the Federal Polytechnic Ede, Osun State, 3rd – 5th July. Onwuka, E.S. 1989. “Maintenance in Building and Construction Works”. Lagos Q.S. Digest Journal Vol. 3 No 1, pp 3 - 4 Rotimi, L.A. and Mtallib, M.E. (1995). A paper title: Economic consideration works, proceedings of the International conference on maintenance of engineering Facilities in developing countries 8aborne, Botswana. Seeley, T. (1987). Building maintenance. 2nd edition Macmillan press Ltd, Nothingham. Speight, B. A. (2000). Maintenance of Buildings - its relationship to design, The chattered surveyor 1-10 166. Stephen, L. (2012). Building services maintenance - The forgotten Discipline, Aha management publications www.aha.com.auGenergy1.htm Wahab, J.A. (1995) Adequate and Affordable Housing for Nigeria in the 21st century housing today. Journal of the Association of Housing Science and its application, vol. 2,

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A COMPUTER BASED WAREHOUSE INFORMATION SYSTEM

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Warehouse is where goods and commodities are kept for further clearance.  Narrowing it to Nigeria Ports Authority, there are many warehouses where imported consignment and goods are stored.  This is cleared by carrying the billing papers from post to post, waiting and wasting much time in seeing who is in charge.  Goods that takes about two weeks to berth into the country takes another two weeks to get cleared.  This makes the importers and the clearing agents to run from port to port, in search of where the goods were kept.

The introduction of computer in warehousing will enable importers know which and where their goods are kept, as it will always be stipulates on the bill of laden papers.  Computer is hereby seen as a way of handling, by systematically organizing them, recording or making notations on them, following up with the appropriate action or the like.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLE

The processing of billing papers for clearance of goods, with manual method has led to omission of many records that ought to be included.  This is caused by inaccuracy of the manual billing process.

Due to the inefficiency in manual billing process, billing papers are carried from post to post, waiting for who is in charge, thereby delaying the goods that suppose to be delivered.

More so, goods are not delivered on time, due to the fact, that goods that takes about two weeks to get into the country, still takes another two weeks to be cleared.

 

1.3     PURPOSE OF STUDY

The purpose of this is study is to

1.                 Identify those problems caused by using manual billing clearance

2.                 Finding out the effect of this in Nigeria Ports Authority

3.                 Create computer awareness

4.                 Identify prospects for solution of problems.

1.4            SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research, base on the problem and prospect of using computer in Nigeria Ports Authority, will help to develop interest towards computer.

The findings of this research, will also help the management to increase the income generation of Nigeria Ports Authority and smooth running of the warehouse in general.

1.5      SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The researcher will identify all the problems, including the financial constraints of the problems, encounter with the use of manual billing clearance in warehousing.

1.6     LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Due to the financial constraints of the researcher and lack of time, the researcher is concentrating the study in only Nigeria Ports Authority Lagos.

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A COMPUTER BASED WAREHOUSE INFORMATION SYSTEM

THE EFFECT OF WEIGHT ON BLOOD PRESSURE OF HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS

CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study: The number of people with high blood pressure is in the increase and research has shown that this condition is heightened by overweight of the patient. That is to say, the more one increases in weight, the higher the tendency of him or her becoming hypertensive. Mori TA (2007). In essence, there is a symbolic relationship between being over-weight and being hypertensive or having high blood pressure. It is in the interest of people who are likely to develop high blood pressure (over-weight people) to seek out ways of managing their weight, as this research work will try to bring out the effects of weight on such people with high blood pressure. What seems unresolved here is the extent to which weight affect people suffering from high blood pressure. Many writers’ views will be examined in the cause of this work to help resolve the issue at stake. Over-weight here will be described or rather defined based on a calculation called “Body mass index” (BMI). According to this formular, one is regarded as over-weight if his BMI is greater than 25. Mancia G. (2007). High  blood pressure on the other hand occurs when one’s blood move through the arteries at a higher speed than normal. It is also known that for now there is no cure for high blood pressure. Papadakis A, Macphere J. (2008). The seriousness of this adult illness (high blood pressure) is not just that it can lead to more serious illness or complications, raises the risk of stroke, kidney failure, heart disease and heart attack. The matter is made worse with the existence of too much weight or fat in the body as this tends to make the condition severe. It is the duty of stakeholders in health sectors to keep the adult folk aware of the implication of over-weight by providing them with accurate, timely and up to date information regarding this health condition. It is also the duty of health personnel to warn and educate adults who are more prone to high blood pressure, about the dangers of over-weight in the management of high blood pressure. This awareness is expected to affect the feeding habit of these people, since it has been observed that poor feeding (that is, poor combination of the classes of food, not necessarily the quantity) is one of the causes of over-weight. Sacks F.M (2008). Statistics have it that between the years 2000 and 2008, there has been about fourty percent (40%) increase in the number of people having high blood pressure. Manson J (2009). Another statistics show that in 2005, sixty percent (60%) of people suffering from high blood pressure were suffering also from kidney failure and heart disease, and that high blood pressure was identified as the remote cause of the disease that later led to the death of a greater percentage of the patients. Manson J. (2009). It is believed in many quarters that some of the findings above and many more are the reasons for the recent step-up in action in the area of high blood pressure management. Hence, many Nigerians knowing the cost of managing such diseases that tends to originate from high blood pressure hightened by over-weight, seem to have woken to the call on “healthy and fit”. This research therefore, would not have been more timely than this. As a matter of fact, it is this situation on ground that necessitated this research work.1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVE -This project work is aimed at investigating whether there is a relationship between weight and blood pressure of patients with high blood pressure. - To estimate the regression model between the variables based on the sample collected. -To test the significance of the coefficient of regression. -To determine the extent and direction of the relationship between the variables; weight and blood pressure.

1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY: This project work is designed to cover the statistical model of effects of weight on thirty (30) patients with high blood pressure in the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital Ituku/Ozalla Enugu State. The data used is a secondary data collected from the laboratory unit of the Hospital.

1.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY: The limitations of the project work is mostly the difficulties encountered during data collection some of these difficulties are as follows:- -The cost of getting project materials, data and the time constrained in carrying out the project work. -The unwillingness of the offices incharge, to release information and data as expected. -The data used are secondary data and as such, some errors (generated errors) might have been committed.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: This project work will help individuals to predict their blood pressure given their weight and will equally help them to know what to do when their weight is becoming too much.

1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS -Weight: This is how heavy somebody or something is which can be measured in, for example kilograms or pounds. -Height: This is the measurement of how tall a person or thing is. -High blood pressure: This occurs when one’s blood move through the arteries at a higher pressure than normal.

A CRITICAL STUDY ON ENZYMES

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Enzyme
Enzymes are large biological molecules responsible for thousands of chemical inter-conversions that sustain life (Smith, 1997). All known enzymes are proteins. They are high molecular weight compounds made up principally of chains of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds, they are denatured at high temperature and precipitated with salts, solvents and other reagents. They have molecular weights ranging from 10,000 to 2,000,000 units. Enzymes do not cause reactions to take place, but rather they enhance the rate of reactions that would have been slower without their presence and still remains unused and unchanged.
Many enzymes require the presence of other compounds - cofactors - before their catalytic activity can be exerted. This entire active complex is referred to as the holoenzyme; i.e. apoenzyme (protein portion) plus the cofactor (coenzyme, prosthetic group or metal-ionactivator) is called the holoenzyme (Alexopoulos et al., 1996)
The living cell is the site of tremendous biochemical activity called metabolism. It is the process of chemical and physical change which goes on continually in the living organism involving the build-up of new tissues, replacement of old tissue, conversion of food to energy, disposal of waste materials, reproduction - all the activities that we characterize as "life."Thephenomenon of enzyme catalysis makes possible biochemical reactions necessary for all life processes. Catalysis is defined as the acceleration of a chemical reaction by some substance which itself undergoes no permanent chemical change. Synthetic molecules called artificial enzymes also display enzyme like catalysis (Grovesm, 1997).
The catalysts of biochemical reactions are enzymes and are responsible for bringing about almost all of the chemical reactions in living organisms. Without enzymes, these reactions take place at a rate far too slow for the pace of metabolism(Bairoch, 2000).
Enzymes actually work by lowering the activation energy of a reaction. This is achieved when it creates an alternative pathway which is faster for the reaction hence speeding it up such that products are formed faster. Enzyme catalysed reactions are million times faster than uncatalysed reactions, they alter the rates but not the equilibrium constant of the reaction being catalysed (Ashokkumar et al., 2001). A few RNA molecules called ribozymes also catalyse reactions, with an important example being some parts of ribosome (Lilley, 2005).
1.1.1 Types of enzymes
Metabolic enzymes: These have been called the spark of life, the energy of life and the vitality of life. These descriptions are not without merit. Metabolic enzymes catalyse and regulate every biochemical reaction that occurs within the human body, making them essential to cellular function and health (Sangeethaet al.,2005). Digestive enzymes turn the food we eat into energy and unlock this energy for use in the body. Our bodies naturally produce both digestive and metabolic enzymes as they are needed. They either speed up or slow down the chemical reactions within the cells for detoxification and energy production. The enable us to see, hear, and move and think. Every organ, every tissue and all 100 trillion cells in our body depend upon the reaction of metabolicenzymes and enjoy their energy factor. Without these metabolic enzymes, cellular life would beimpossible.
Food enzymes:These are introduced to the body through the raw foods we eat and throughconsumption of supplemental enzyme products. Raw foods naturally contain enzymes providing asource of digestive enzymes when ingested(Hossainet al., 1984). However, raw food manifests only enough enzymesto digest that particular food, not enough to be stored in the body for later use (the exceptionsbeing pineapple and papaya, the sources of the enzymes bromelain and papain). The cooking andprocessing of food destroys all of its enzymes. Since most of the foods we eat are cooked orprocessed in some way and since the raw foods we do eat contain only enough enzymes toprocess that particular food (Persike et al., 2002) our bodies must produce the majority of the digestive enzymes werequire, unless we use supplemental enzymes to aid in the digestive process. A variety ofsupplemental enzymes are available through different sources. It is important to understand thedifferences between the enzyme types and ensure that one is using an enzyme product which willmeet one’s particular needs.
Plant based enzymes:These are the most popular choice of enzymes. They are grown in a laboratorysetting and extracted from Aspergillus species. The enzymes harvested from Aspergillusspecies are called plantbased, microbial and fungal. Of all the choices, plant based enzymes are the most active. Thismeans they can break down more fat, protein and carbohydrates in the broadest pH range than any other sources (Ashokkumar et al., 2001).
1.1.2    Characteristics of enzymes
Protein nature:Enzyme is a protein. The main components of an enzyme is protein.
Temperature: Enzymes are sensitive to temperature. Many work best at temperatures close to body temperatures and most lose their ability to catalyse if they are heated above 60 or 70o C. (Ashokkumar et al., 2001).
Acidity and alkalinity:Many enzymes work best at a particular pH and stop working if the pH becomes too acidic or alkaline.
Catalytic effect:It acts as catalyst, enzyme functions in accelerating chemical reaction, but the enzyme itself does not change after the reaction ends.
Specificity:It functions specifically. The enzyme only catalyzes one kind of substrate and cannot function for many substrates. The term is called one enzyme one substrate.
Reversibility: It means the enzyme does not determine the direction of reaction, but it only functions in accelerating reaction rate until it reaches equilibrium. The enzyme also functions in substance synthesis and substance breaking down reaction.
Small quantity:It is required, in small amount. A small amount of enzyme is able to catalyze a chemical reaction (Nason, 1968).
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Enzyme
Enzymes are large biological molecules responsible for thousands of chemical inter-conversions that sustain life (Smith, 1997). All known enzymes are proteins. They are high molecular weight compounds made up principally of chains of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds, they are denatured at high temperature and precipitated with salts, solvents and other reagents. They have molecular weights ranging from 10,000 to 2,000,000 units. Enzymes do not cause reactions to take place, but rather they enhance the rate of reactions that would have been slower without their presence and still remains unused and unchanged.
Many enzymes require the presence of other compounds - cofactors - before their catalytic activity can be exerted. This entire active complex is referred to as the holoenzyme; i.e. apoenzyme (protein portion) plus the cofactor (coenzyme, prosthetic group or metal-ionactivator) is called the holoenzyme (Alexopoulos et al., 1996)
The living cell is the site of tremendous biochemical activity called metabolism. It is the process of chemical and physical change which goes on continually in the living organism involving the build-up of new tissues, replacement of old tissue, conversion of food to energy, disposal of waste materials, reproduction - all the activities that we characterize as "life."Thephenomenon of enzyme catalysis makes possible biochemical reactions necessary for all life processes. Catalysis is defined as the acceleration of a chemical reaction by some substance which itself undergoes no permanent chemical change. Synthetic molecules called artificial enzymes also display enzyme like catalysis (Grovesm, 1997).
The catalysts of biochemical reactions are enzymes and are responsible for bringing about almost all of the chemical reactions in living organisms. Without enzymes, these reactions take place at a rate far too slow for the pace of metabolism(Bairoch, 2000).
Enzymes actually work by lowering the activation energy of a reaction. This is achieved when it creates an alternative pathway which is faster for the reaction hence speeding it up such that products are formed faster. Enzyme catalysed reactions are million times faster than uncatalysed reactions, they alter the rates but not the equilibrium constant of the reaction being catalysed (Ashokkumar et al., 2001). A few RNA molecules called ribozymes also catalyse reactions, with an important example being some parts of ribosome (Lilley, 2005).
1.1.1 Types of enzymes
Metabolic enzymes: These have been called the spark of life, the energy of life and the vitality of life. These descriptions are not without merit. Metabolic enzymes catalyse and regulate every biochemical reaction that occurs within the human body, making them essential to cellular function and health (Sangeethaet al.,2005). Digestive enzymes turn the food we eat into energy and unlock this energy for use in the body. Our bodies naturally produce both digestive and metabolic enzymes as they are needed. They either speed up or slow down the chemical reactions within the cells for detoxification and energy production. The enable us to see, hear, and move and think. Every organ, every tissue and all 100 trillion cells in our body depend upon the reaction of metabolicenzymes and enjoy their energy factor. Without these metabolic enzymes, cellular life would beimpossible.
Food enzymes:These are introduced to the body through the raw foods we eat and throughconsumption of supplemental enzyme products. Raw foods naturally contain enzymes providing asource of digestive enzymes when ingested(Hossainet al., 1984). However, raw food manifests only enough enzymesto digest that particular food, not enough to be stored in the body for later use (the exceptionsbeing pineapple and papaya, the sources of the enzymes bromelain and papain). The cooking andprocessing of food destroys all of its enzymes. Since most of the foods we eat are cooked orprocessed in some way and since the raw foods we do eat contain only enough enzymes toprocess that particular food (Persike et al., 2002) our bodies must produce the majority of the digestive enzymes werequire, unless we use supplemental enzymes to aid in the digestive process. A variety ofsupplemental enzymes are available through different sources. It is important to understand thedifferences between the enzyme types and ensure that one is using an enzyme product which willmeet one’s particular needs.
Plant based enzymes:These are the most popular choice of enzymes. They are grown in a laboratorysetting and extracted from Aspergillus species. The enzymes harvested from Aspergillusspecies are called plantbased, microbial and fungal. Of all the choices, plant based enzymes are the most active. Thismeans they can break down more fat, protein and carbohydrates in the broadest pH range than any other sources (Ashokkumar et al., 2001).
1.1.2    Characteristics of enzymes
Protein nature:Enzyme is a protein. The main components of an enzyme is protein.
Temperature: Enzymes are sensitive to temperature. Many work best at temperatures close to body temperatures and most lose their ability to catalyse if they are heated above 60 or 70o C. (Ashokkumar et al., 2001).
Acidity and alkalinity:Many enzymes work best at a particular pH and stop working if the pH becomes too acidic or alkaline.
Catalytic effect:It acts as catalyst, enzyme functions in accelerating chemical reaction, but the enzyme itself does not change after the reaction ends.
Specificity:It functions specifically. The enzyme only catalyzes one kind of substrate and cannot function for many substrates. The term is called one enzyme one substrate.
Reversibility: It means the enzyme does not determine the direction of reaction, but it only functions in accelerating reaction rate until it reaches equilibrium. The enzyme also functions in substance synthesis and substance breaking down reaction.
Small quantity:It is required, in small amount. A small amount of enzyme is able to catalyze a chemical reaction (Nason, 1968).