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Oklahoma Native Plant Record, 2018
Fire suppression and grazing on the Great Plains have resulted in alteration of the grassland eco... more Fire suppression and grazing on the Great Plains have resulted in alteration of the grassland ecosystem, including an increase in woody trees. Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) is a native but invasive conifer that is rapidly expanding its range in Oklahoma due to human and ecological factors and the ability to tolerate aridity. It is known to reduce soil moisture due to high rates of water uptake compared to neighboring grasses and herbaceous species. The objectives of this study were to compare average amounts of water transpired between eastern redcedar and adjacent woody trees in central Oklahoma to determine how water loss in the conifer compares with other trees in the same locality. Average amounts of transpiration in eastern redcedar were compared with those of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), white mulberry (Morus alba L.), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides W. Bartram ex Marshall) and bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.). Three to six branch tips per tree were securely bagged over 24-hour periods, and water collected in each bag was weighed and analyzed. Three to five sampling months spanning two or three seasons were conducted for each comparative study. Results indicated that for winter, spring, and fall, transpiration from eastern redcedar exceeded that from the other tree species. Weather variables such as day length and temperature were found to have strong to moderate effects on transpiration in eastern redcedar. Day length and temperature also had strong effects on transpiration in white mulberry and bur oak, respectively, and humidity had an effect on transpiration in loblolly pine. No reliable or significant effect of weather variables was detected in eastern cottonwood.
African Journal of Education,Science and Technology, Dec 23, 2019
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the success and usefulness of using grounded theory met... more The purpose of this paper is to highlight the success and usefulness of using grounded theory methodology in qualitative research. It is intended for scholars and researchers using qualitative methods, especially supervisors who are apprehensive over issues of validity in grounded theory approaches in researching lived experience. The study sought to fulfil the objectives: To explore the emergence of Grounded Theory in research on lived experience; To identify the challenges of using grounded theory researching lied experience, and; To highlight successful use of grounded theory in the lived experience of undergraduate student mother research. Through descriptive phenomenology, this paper illustrates such dynamics of research in Grounded Theory as a method in data collection in lived experience of undergraduate student mothers. The blueprint of Grounded Theory is traced through the research process in a mixture of content analysis of the research outcome and the lived experience narrative approach adopted by the researcher. Findings, brought out as lived experience of the research reveal that Grounded Theory procedures are thorough while its results are apt and resourceful in bringing out the often elusive data about which assumptions dominate. It delves into the unknown, giving voice to the voiceless. Though various researchers qualify its tedious procedures, Grounded Theory as a method was found appropriate, effective and highly resourceful in accessing data in the study on lived experience; that of the undergraduate student mothers. The paper recommends Grounded Theory be demystified by adopting it in relevant research as commitment in the management of data and the research process. The nature of research and the social cultural context should be a guiding factor in successful Grounded Theory methodology.
Academic Journal of Current Research, Jun 30, 2020
African Journal of Education,Science and Technology, 2017
A core responsibility of any educational institution in delivery of quality education entails mak... more A core responsibility of any educational institution in delivery of quality education entails making education functional and accessible in the face of social dynamics. Changing social phenomena at university enrolment has realised an increasing number of mature-entry student mothers and rising numbers of undergraduate student mothers, a feature that was previously uncommon in higher education. Whereas normal structural changes are often met with regular readjustment and policy change or development in institutions, the student mother phenomenon has been left out despite its obvious implications to equity and accessibility in education. By embracing paradigm shift in sociological research this concept paper, developed at the initial stages of the study adopts qualitative methods and employs participant observer and content analysis to bring into focus student mother experiences and glimpses at existing policies regarding student mothers at university in order to highlight issues of quality, accessibility and inclusiveness in education, in the background of feminist theory and critical theory. The findings reflected challenges of mobility, acceptability, accommodation, delays in completion and alienation of undergraduate student mothers. Though The Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MOEST) gender policy of 2006, revised in 2007 contains the re-entry policy on unconditional readmission of teen mothers into primary and secondary schools, it does not mention the student mothers at university, an assumption that individual universities may probably have internal systems to deal with it. A glimpse at university policies however reveals little or no trace of relevant policies for the undergraduate student mothers albeit tentative accommodation arrangements. This implies that unrevised policies and conservative approaches to student mother issues may result in great challenges of retention, progression, mobility and completion of the more underprivileged undergraduate student mothers. The study therefore suggests the need to carry out thorough studies in the student mother phenomena, to work on impediments that deter education achievement, accessibility and mobility in the face of dynamism in higher education.
Oklahoma Native Plant Record, 2018
Fire suppression and grazing on the Great Plains have resulted in alteration of the grassland eco... more Fire suppression and grazing on the Great Plains have resulted in alteration of the grassland ecosystem, including an increase in woody trees. Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) is a native but invasive conifer that is rapidly expanding its range in Oklahoma due to human and ecological factors and the ability to tolerate aridity. It is known to reduce soil moisture due to high rates of water uptake compared to neighboring grasses and herbaceous species. The objectives of this study were to compare average amounts of water transpired between eastern redcedar and adjacent woody trees in central Oklahoma to determine how water loss in the conifer compares with other trees in the same locality. Average amounts of transpiration in eastern redcedar were compared with those of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), white mulberry (Morus alba L.), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides W. Bartram ex Marshall) and bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.). Three to six branch tips per tree were securely bagged over 24-hour periods, and water collected in each bag was weighed and analyzed. Three to five sampling months spanning two or three seasons were conducted for each comparative study. Results indicated that for winter, spring, and fall, transpiration from eastern redcedar exceeded that from the other tree species. Weather variables such as day length and temperature were found to have strong to moderate effects on transpiration in eastern redcedar. Day length and temperature also had strong effects on transpiration in white mulberry and bur oak, respectively, and humidity had an effect on transpiration in loblolly pine. No reliable or significant effect of weather variables was detected in eastern cottonwood.
African Journal of Education,Science and Technology, Dec 23, 2019
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the success and usefulness of using grounded theory met... more The purpose of this paper is to highlight the success and usefulness of using grounded theory methodology in qualitative research. It is intended for scholars and researchers using qualitative methods, especially supervisors who are apprehensive over issues of validity in grounded theory approaches in researching lived experience. The study sought to fulfil the objectives: To explore the emergence of Grounded Theory in research on lived experience; To identify the challenges of using grounded theory researching lied experience, and; To highlight successful use of grounded theory in the lived experience of undergraduate student mother research. Through descriptive phenomenology, this paper illustrates such dynamics of research in Grounded Theory as a method in data collection in lived experience of undergraduate student mothers. The blueprint of Grounded Theory is traced through the research process in a mixture of content analysis of the research outcome and the lived experience narrative approach adopted by the researcher. Findings, brought out as lived experience of the research reveal that Grounded Theory procedures are thorough while its results are apt and resourceful in bringing out the often elusive data about which assumptions dominate. It delves into the unknown, giving voice to the voiceless. Though various researchers qualify its tedious procedures, Grounded Theory as a method was found appropriate, effective and highly resourceful in accessing data in the study on lived experience; that of the undergraduate student mothers. The paper recommends Grounded Theory be demystified by adopting it in relevant research as commitment in the management of data and the research process. The nature of research and the social cultural context should be a guiding factor in successful Grounded Theory methodology.
Academic Journal of Current Research, Jun 30, 2020
African Journal of Education,Science and Technology, 2017
A core responsibility of any educational institution in delivery of quality education entails mak... more A core responsibility of any educational institution in delivery of quality education entails making education functional and accessible in the face of social dynamics. Changing social phenomena at university enrolment has realised an increasing number of mature-entry student mothers and rising numbers of undergraduate student mothers, a feature that was previously uncommon in higher education. Whereas normal structural changes are often met with regular readjustment and policy change or development in institutions, the student mother phenomenon has been left out despite its obvious implications to equity and accessibility in education. By embracing paradigm shift in sociological research this concept paper, developed at the initial stages of the study adopts qualitative methods and employs participant observer and content analysis to bring into focus student mother experiences and glimpses at existing policies regarding student mothers at university in order to highlight issues of quality, accessibility and inclusiveness in education, in the background of feminist theory and critical theory. The findings reflected challenges of mobility, acceptability, accommodation, delays in completion and alienation of undergraduate student mothers. Though The Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MOEST) gender policy of 2006, revised in 2007 contains the re-entry policy on unconditional readmission of teen mothers into primary and secondary schools, it does not mention the student mothers at university, an assumption that individual universities may probably have internal systems to deal with it. A glimpse at university policies however reveals little or no trace of relevant policies for the undergraduate student mothers albeit tentative accommodation arrangements. This implies that unrevised policies and conservative approaches to student mother issues may result in great challenges of retention, progression, mobility and completion of the more underprivileged undergraduate student mothers. The study therefore suggests the need to carry out thorough studies in the student mother phenomena, to work on impediments that deter education achievement, accessibility and mobility in the face of dynamism in higher education.