Science is an attempt to explain natural phenomena. Science is a body of organized knowledge acquired through a process of inquiry( Ezeliora, Ezenwabachili, Aneke & Aghadinuno, 2011). Baja (1992) beautifully described science as the continual search for adequate methods of understanding our environment. Abd-El-Khalick., Bell & Lederman (1998) explained the nature of science as making the unnatural natural. There are methods or processes peculiar to science in determining the facts about natur...
Introduction This unit is a continuation of Units 21 and 22 in SED 701 (Foundations of Science Education). The unit centre on the development of science education which is concerned with understanding the learning and teaching of science. The main focus of the unit is the development of science education in Nigeria before and since independence. 2.1 Objectives At the end of this unit, you should be able to: explain development of science education in Nigeria before and since independence. ...
Whenever one is seeking to find out the origin of something, one may be tempted to ask the following questions such as: "when did it start?", "how did it start?" and "where did it start? Our major concern here is to find out about the origin of man. How did man start on? How did man race started off? Who are man's ancestors? Additional questions which might bothers the minds of every man, woman, boy or girl are that "where did human beings come from?" and how did man originate? The answers to...
Socialization as a social process has been defined by various authorities in the field of sociology. Socialization can be described as the process of adaptation by the individuals to the conventional patterns of behaviour. It thus occurs on account of the individual’s interaction with others and the expression of the culture which operates through them. Ross defined socialization as the development of “we-feeling” in the ways and manners individuals behave in the society. Bogardu has vi...
Often things or items or media (water, food, soil, Air) are found in their natural, pure and pristine forms as expected in both quality and quantity. When an undesirable substance which normally is not an aspect of that originalitem/mediais found in such a noticeable concentration as to affect the value of such item/media, pollution has taken place. The phenomena of pollution occur in our environment every day as a result of our daily endeavours/activities either deliberately or by share coin...
Environmental Management has been defined by many Authors. Environmental management can be defined as being a goal or vision, an attempt to steer a process, the application of a set of tools, a more philosophical exercise seeking to identify and establish new outlooks, and much more. Individual environmental managers may have a problem solving, sectoral, local, regional or global focus. They may be academics, regional or national decision makers and planners, non- governmental organization (N...
There is no single universally accepted definition of Public Health Nutrition rather; Public health is a combination of science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting physical health and efficiency through organized community efforts. While science is objective, art is subjective (Stein, 2014). Public Health Nutrition emphasises disease prevention and promotion of well-being. Malnutrition and nutrition-related disease are a global problem. Consumption of adequate quantit...
For the purposes of environmental health, however, a more practical definition of the environment is needed, because environment health action generally tries to change only the natural and physical environment and related behaviours (e.g hand washing). Such interventions can rarely modify the social and cultural aspects of a community, which are usually independent of the environment (e.g cultural pressures on lifestyle, unemployment). As a result, a more practical definition of the environm...
Air pollution can be high in parts of North America and Europe, but it has improved slightly over the past decade with new environmental regulations and progress in technology. Meanwhile, China and India have been frequently cited as areas where air pollution is at its worst. In some cities in Asia, it has exceeded 20 times the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Nevertheless, there is considerable variation within those countries both regionally and locally, especially in recent year...
Environmental geosciences studies the changes in the earth around us. These include the atmosphere, ocean and the solid earth (lithos or geos) and the interactions between them. These interactions are continuous and symbiotic and they determine the habitability of the planet. Environmental geoscience is both multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary. It covers the field of physical, biological and information sciences (including ecology, physics, zoology, mineralogy, geology, plant science etc....
According to the United Nation, the world population is estimated to reach 8 billion in 2023, and projected to hit 10 billion in 2057. The present population has already passed what is termed as the “comfortable” carrying capacity of the planet. It's a common sense that as the world population continues to grow, the limits of essential global resources such as potable water, fertile land, forests and fisheries will become more stressed. This unit will discuss the relationship between popu...
The word hypothesis consists of two words: Hypo + thesis = Hypothesis (Kabir, 2016) ‗Hypo‘ means tentative or subject to verification and ‗Thesis‘ means statement about the solution of a problem. The meaning of the term hypothesis is a tentative statement about the solution of a problem. Hypothesis offers a solution to the problem that is to be verified empirically and based on some rationale. Another meaning of the word hypothesis, which is composed of two words, – ‗Hypo‘ means...
The problem of deforestation is as old as human quest for settlement and improved quality of life. The current status of the worlds deforested forest is quite alarming. This problem is more pronounced among less developed economic societies. Ironically most of these forest products are not consumed by the less developed society s world over. The values of deforestation are highlighted below as articulated by Jones et al (1990), Cunningham & Cunning ham (2002) and Cunningham, Cunning ham & Sai...
It is pertinent to understand and be cautious about the environment in which life exists. This is because the environment is be deviled with several macro-organisms and micro-organisms, some of which are deleterious to human existence while others are beneficial to life. This unit will therefore examine and define the different types of environment in which life exists and catalogue the different microorganisms encountered and the role they play in the survival of life that exist in them. At ...
Instrumentation is used in almost every activity and generating system, where consistent and reliable operations are required. Instrumentation provides the means of monitoring, recording and controlling a process to maintain it at a desired state. A typical environmental activity yields many process variables that have to be measured and manipulated. Variables such as boiler level, temperature and pressure, turbine speed, generator output and many others have to be controlled prudently to ens...