Thesis

The study investigated the Differential Effectiveness of Cognitive Restructuring Therapy (CRT), Social Skills Training (SST) and Assertiveness Training (AT) Counselling Techniques in Handling Shyness using Students in Public Junior Secondary Schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. The study determined the general level of shyness as well as among male and female students in junior secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. The study also determined if sex influenced the efficacies of the three counselling therapies in the handling of shyness among students in junior secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. To address the problem of the study, nine research questions were raised and seven of them were formulated into seven corresponding hypotheses and tested at 0.05 level of significance.
The target population of the study consisted of thirty thousand, five hundred and seventy-four (30,574) students enrolled in the 2022/2023 academic session in the Public Mixed Junior Secondary Schools Two (JSS2) in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. The sample size comprised of two hundred (200) junior secondary school students which were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. Quasi experimental research design which involved non-equivalent pre-test-post-test design was adopted for the study which consisted of three experimental groups. The instrument used for pre-test and post-test was the questionnaire titled; Shyness Inventory (SI). The validity of the instrument was ascertained by three experts-the researcher’s two supervisors and one test expert in the Department of Educational Evaluation and Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Benin, Benin-City. The instrument was administered on thirty students outside the sample of the study to determine the reliability of the instrument. Cronbach Alpha statistics was used to obtain a reliability coefficient of 0.85. The Shyness Inventory (SI) was used to identify the shy students

The study examined the influence of carbon footprint on Economic Growth (EG) of selected
African countries. Quarterly time series data and panel data of five (5) African countries from
1980 to 2023 were sourced from the World Bank Development Index (WBDI) database. Statistical techniques of descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, stationarity test, cointegration test, Error Correction Model (ECM) and panel Vector Error Correction Model
(VECM) were employed to analyse the data. Findings show that four (4) out of five countries
traded-off Economic Growth to reduce carbon emissions in the long run. Thus, EKC
(Environmental Kuznet Curve) proposition is confirmed in these countries (Nigeria, Algeria, Libya, and Egypt). Also, electricity consumption, human capital, and trade openness are
significant channels via which renewable energy technology may affect the countries’ Economic Growth, although in different magnitude. In Africa, Economic Growth must be
traded-off in the long run to reduce the quantum of consumption carbon emission (CO2) in
the long run. Only trade openness is identified as a significant conduit via which renewable
energy technology impact the region’s Economic Growth. From the foregoing analysis, the
study concludes that better EKC hypothesis practice and favourable trade openness is a useful
tool for preventing environmental degradation process and promoting economic growth and
development in Africa.

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are environmental pollutants that can be found on many
surfaces including grasses that are often consumed by ruminants. It was therefore
hypothesized that bacteria in the intestine of cow may have the potential to degrade PAHs. The aim of the study was to isolate PAH(s) degrading organisms from the large intestine of
cows. Bacteria were isolated from the intestinal chyme of the large intestine of a healthy cow
collected at the point of slaughter by serial dilution/direct plating and enrichment methods. Physicochemical parameters including; pH, temperature, moisture content, total solids, volatile solids and total suspended solids were analysed. The isolates were identified by
standard microbiological test protocol (Gram reaction and biochemical tests) and screened for
PAH degradation potential using the 2-6 dichlorophenol indophenol (DCPIP) redox dye, quantified by a UV_VIS spectrophotometer. The identity of the two isolates with the highest
PAH degradation capacity after preliminary degradation tests, was confirmed following
API20e tests analysis and 16S rRNA molecular analysis. The two isolates were used to
inoculate carbon free Bushnell Haas medium containing the PAHs in single and combined
cultures for the degradation tests. Samples were withdrawn at intervals of three days and
analyzed for bacterial growth, pH, temperature, BOD, COD and changes in the concentration
of the PAHs for 16 days. The optimum temperature, pH, concentration and nutrient
supplementation for efficient degradation was analyzed following standard protocol and genes
responsible for degradation identified. The two test isolates selected after screening and identification were Escherichia coli and
Klebsiella pneumoniae. HPLC/GCMS analyses showed that the concentration of
Benzo[a]Pyrene declined by 84.8%, 91.04% and 96.44% by E. coli, K. pnuemoniae and a
combination of both respectively after 16 days. The reduction in pyrene concentration was
89.36%, 90.98% and 97.76% after exposure to E. coli, K. puemoniae and a combination of
both respectively while the decline of floranthene concentration stood at 86.4%, 90.3% and
92.3.7% after similar exposure to the test bacteria. ANOVA confirmed significant differences
in the extent of the degradation of the PAHs by the test bacteria and their combined cultures
(P<0.05). The growth of the isolates combined peaked at 1.98 log cfu/ml between days 10 and
XX
XXI
13 during degradation of BaP. With respect to pyrene, it peaked at day thirteen
with a log cfu value of 2.86 while in medium containing floranthene day 13 with a log cfu
value of 3.23. The pH of medium adjusted to 7.0 declined in the three mediums with the least
pH value for BaP, Pyrene and Flouranthene being 6.5, 6.6 and 6.7 respectively during
degradation of the PAHs. Phthalate was the major degradation product in the course of
degradation of the PAHs. The optimum temperature and pH conditions for the degradation of
the PAHs was 35°C and pH 7, respectively while PAHs ≥ 1000 mg inhibited the growth of the
test bacteria. Application of fertilizer (NPK) enhanced growth of the test bacteria and
degradation of the PAHs. The genes associated with the degradation of PAHs in E. coli and K. pneumoniae were found to be alkane monooxygenase (alkB), Napthalene dioxygenase
(NahAC) and Catechol dioxygenase (C230). It can be concluded that the intestine of Bos tarus
harbor strains of bacteria that are capable of a high degree of degradation of PAHs; and that
the consortium of the bacterial strains can be potentially useful for bioremediation of PAH- polluted environment.

The study investigated the Differential Effectiveness of Cognitive Restructuring
Therapy (CRT), Social Skills Training (SST) and Assertiveness Training (AT) Counselling
Techniques in Handling Shyness using Students in Public Junior Secondary Schools in Egor
Local Government Area of Edo State. The study determined the general level of shyness as
well as among male and female students in junior secondary schools in Egor Local Government
Area of Edo State. The study also determined if sex influenced the efficacies of the three
counselling therapies in the handling of shyness among students in junior secondary schools in
Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. To address the problem of the study, nine research
questions were raised and seven of them were formulated into seven corresponding hypotheses
and tested at 0.05 level of significance.
The target population of the study consisted of thirty thousand, five hundred and
seventy-four (30,574) students enrolled in the 2022/2023 academic session in the Public Mixed
Junior Secondary Schools Two (JSS2) in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. The
sample size comprised of two hundred (200) junior secondary school students which were
selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. Quasi experimental research design which
involved non-equivalent pre-test-post-test design was adopted for the study which consisted of
three experimental groups. The instrument used for pre-test and post-test was the questionnaire
titled; Shyness Inventory (SI). The validity of the instrument was ascertained by three experts
the researcher’s two supervisors and one test expert in the Department of Educational
Evaluation and Counselling Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Benin, Benin-City.
The instrument was administered on thirty students outside the sample of the study to
determine the reliability of the instrument. Cronbach Alpha statistics was used to obtain a
reliability coefficient of 0.85. The Shyness Inventory (SI) was used to identify the shy students

who took part in the study. The treatment intervention lasted for a period of six weeks of two
sessions weekly lasting for forty-five (45) minutes per session. The data collected were
analysed using descriptive statistics of frequencies, means and standard deviation and
inferential statistics of paired sample t-test and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).
The findings of the study showed that the level of shyness among students in Junior
Secondary Schools in Edo State was high. That SST was most effective followed by AT and
CRT was least effective in handling shyness among students in junior secondary schools in
Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. Also, there was no significant interaction effect of
treatment by sex of the participants. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others
that, counsellors and counselling psychologists should, therefore, utilize the three counselling
therapies in handling shyness among secondary school students.