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Volume 1 Number 7 November 2015

Teaching Evaluation and Students? Perception of Their Grades: A Game Theory Approach


Authors: Guych Nuryyev ; Shu-Hui Su ; Patrick Decosta ; Chen-Chang Lo
Pages: 86-93
Abstract
This paper revisits the discussion of the relationship between students’ grades and their teaching evaluation. The literature on this relationship is inconclusive. This paper studies a relationship between students’ perception of their grades and their teaching evaluations. The analysis of this paper employs teaching evaluation surveys carried out before and after the examination. This helps segregate the effect of the grade perception on teaching evaluation from other factors. This study also tests if the difference between expected and received grades affects teaching evaluation. Using multinomial logistical regressions, we found no evidence that instructors and students trade grades for teaching evaluation.

An Assessment of the level of Farmers Awareness and Adaptation to Climate Change in Northern Taraba State, Nigeria


Authors: Oruonye E. D. ; Adebayo A. A.
Pages: 79-85
Abstract
This paper investigated the extent of awareness of climate change by local farmers in northern part of Taraba State, Nigeria. The study explores the choice of adaptation measures employed by the local farmers and the constraints to such measures. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze data obtained from a survey of 248 farmers from 31 villages in six local government areas of northern Taraba State. The finding of the study reveals that about 88% of the farmers are aware of climate change in the study area, however, only 48% of the respondents claimed they know the causes of climate change.  90% of the farmers claimed that they have been affected by recent changes in climate in the study area through low rainfall, excess rainfall, flooding and extreme high temperature. The study findings show that most of the farmers’ opinion, observations and adaptation measures to climate change agrees with experts report. The study findings show that the common adaptation measures applied by the local farmer’s in the study area include altering of planting season, use of different tillage system, use of tolerant seed variety, planting early maturing variety and crop diversification/mixing. Despite the peoples’ awareness and adaptation to climate change in the study area, lack of finance hinders farmers from getting the necessary resources and technologies that facilitate adapting to climate change. The study recommends the need to increase farmers’ accessibility to information on adaptive research findings on early maturing, insect/pest tolerant, and high yielding varieties through increase extension service and soft loans to the farmers.