The study is designed to examine the influence of mother tongue on Students performance in English language in Junior School Certificate Examination. The study investigated if mother tongue is solely the cause of the students' woeful performance in English Language in Junior School certificate Examination or if there are other complementing factors. The subjects for the study were one hundred male and female SSI students drawn from various government schools in western Nigeria. Using simple percentage descriptive statistic, the research questions that were raised analysed. The findings reveal that mother tongue influences the students' poor performance in English language in Junior School Certificate examination and that there are other factors contributing to students' poor performance in English language. These other factors are poor method of teaching, lack of textbooks, language background and lack of professional growth and development of teachers. Measures that could be taken to enhance students' achievement in every aspect of English language are suggested also. The respondents' age ranged between 10.52 and 15.17. The participants were those who have sat for the Junior Secondary School Certificate examination. They were randomly selected across diverse religious and socioeconomic background.

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the career commitment of records management personnel in a State Civil Service in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachQuestionnaires were used to gather data from a population of 294 records management personnel in the 26 ministries/establishments of the State Civil Service. A total of 280 of them responded and their questionnaires were found to be valid for analysis. The response rate achieved was 95.2 per cent.FindingsThe study found that: there was no significant gender difference in the career commitment of the respondents, there was significant difference in the career commitment of single and married respondents; there was significant negative relationship between job tenure, levels of education and career commitment of the respondents. However, their was positive relationship between age and the respondents' career commitment. The results are based on Z‐tests at the 5 per cent significance level.Practical implicationsIt is recommended that the policy‐makers in the Osun State Civil Service should consider the biographical variables of the records management personnel when planning and making decisions on their career commitment.Originality/valueThe paper provides valuable information on the career commitment of records management personnel in the Osun State Civil Service.

This study investigated the patterns of spirituality, gender, and age in cybergossip practices among Nigerian adolescents. The study utilized a descriptive survey method. Five hundred thirty adolescent students, randomly selected from four major cities in Nigeria, participated in the study. Their age range was 16 to 21. General Spirituality and Gossip Purpose scales were used to collect data from the participants. Data collected were subjected to t test statistics. Findings showed that there is no significant difference in the cybergossiping practices of adolescents based on their levels of spirituality. This reveals that spirituality is not an inhibiting factor in cybergossiping practices among the adolescents. However, there is significant difference between male and female youths in their cybergossiping practices. The results showed that females are more likely than males to be involved in cybergossiping activities. There is also significant difference between early and late adolescents' cybergossiping activities. The implication is that gossip and cybergossip is a natural tendency that involves communicative expression with a pleasure-seeking purpose. It is a habit that excludes no one despite spiritual, gender, or age factors. Therefore, this behavior should be positively directed away from abusive computing and communication. This work is unique because of the need for parents, guardians, and psychologists to design measures to identify and manage various moderating variables in children's computing practices for optimal positive outcomes.

This study investigated demographic factors, attitude and knowledge of persons with special needs towards COVID-19 in Nigeria between 12 th and 25 th May, 2020. This cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 72 persons with special needs purposively selected from the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. A questionnaire comprising questions on demographic information (three), knowledge (24) and attitude (28) towards COVID-19 was completed via Google forms by the participants (r = 0.78). There were more males (51, 70.8%) than females (21, 29.2%) and the most common age group was 34-44 years (37.5%). The number of participants with a hearing impairment was 34 (47.2%) and the number with a visual impairment was 26 (36.1%). The results indicate adequate knowledge about the characteristics of COVID-19. It was found that 98.6% of the participants had heard about COVID-19; 94.4% were aware that COVID-19 is a contagious disease, 91.7% stated that COVID-19 is a virus and 88.9% reported correctly that the incubation period is 3-14 days. The knowledge about symptoms of COVID-19 among participants was high (x = 2.63; participants obtained 87.8% of the total achievable score for these questions). The knowledge about prevention and control of COVID-19 among participants needs was very high (x = 2.77; participants obtained 92.3% of the total achievable score for these questions). Attitude of participants towards the COVID-19 outbreak was positive and above average (x = 2.84). However, participants reported that it is hard to get palliatives or financial support from others during COVID-19 lockdown (52.8%) and that they feel frustrated by the uncaring attitude of the government towards them during COVID-19 lockdown (55.6%). On this basis, counselling and social policy implications were suggested including the provision of palliatives by the government and the need for widespread enlightenment among individuals with special needs on prevention of COVID-19.

This study investigated demographic factors, attitude and knowledge of persons with special needs towards COVID-19 in Nigeria between 12th and 25th May, 2020. This cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 72 persons with special needs purposively selected from the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. A questionnaire comprising questions on demographic information (three), knowledge (24) and attitude (28) towards COVID-19 was completed via Google forms by the participants (r = 0.78). There were more males (51, 70.8%) than females (21, 29.2%) and the most common age group was 34-44 years (37.5%). The number of participants with a hearing impairment was 34 (47.2%) and the number with a visual impairment was 26 (36.1%). The results indicate adequate knowledge about the characteristics of COVID-19. It was found that 98.6% of the participants had heard about COVID-19; 94.4% were aware that COVID-19 is a contagious disease, 91.7% stated that COVID-19 is a virus and 88.9% reported correctly that the incubation period is 3-14 days. The knowledge about symptoms of COVID-19 among participants was high (x = 2.63; participants obtained 87.8% of the total achievable score for these questions). The knowledge about prevention and control of COVID 19 among participants needs was very high (x = 2.77; participants obtained 92.3% of the total achievable score for these questions). Attitude of participants towards the COVID-19 outbreak was positive and above average (x = 2.84). However, participants reported that it is hard to get palliatives or financial and material support from others during COVID-19 lockdown (52.8%) and that they feel frustrated by the uncaring attitude of the government towards them during COVID-19 lockdown (55.6%). On this basis, counselling and social policy implications were suggested including the need for widespread enlightenment on how to reduce hearing and vision impairments in the country.