What is your favourite number?

We all have favourites.  From places to meals, having favourite is an unconscious part of our existence.  Can we ask ourselves, why do i like the things that i like?  Our seemingly innocuous actions such as choosing a random number have a huge significance that we might not be aware of.  For instance, it is used in psychology and psychiatry for a number of diagnosis. If you are asked to choose a number between 1 and 10, what will be your choice?  What does this choice say about you?  What factors will likely affect your choice - religion, age, gender, intelligence, or mood?  

If a group of randomly selected individuals are asked to pick a random number between 1 and 10, what do you think will be the favourite number?  Why do you think it will be 7?  What factors will determine the favourite number?

Ogunjo et al (2018) examined this research questions in their new publication (read here) .  They asked over 2000 undergraduate students to pick a favourite number between 1 and 10.  The favourite number was found to be 1!  

Statistics of chosen numbers

What factors could be responsible for this?  They found that gender (either male or female), age (young or old), intelligence (performance in a quick test) did not contribute statistically to this choice of number.  However, the faculty they belong to was found to be a significant contributor.

There is still very much more to be done.  Researchers need to broaden the scope of contributing factors to include tribe, religion, political affiliation, and  mood.  Can we use the favourite numbers among a group of individuals to predict group dynamics? 

References

Ogunjo, Samuel T, Emmanuel J Dansu, Oluwagbenga Fakanye, and Ibiyinka A Fuwape. 2018. “The Possibility of Uniform Pseudo-Random Number Generation by a Group of Humans.” OSF. October 6. osf.io/ms9y3. 

 

Cost of higher education in Nigeria

There is an increase in the number of applicants into higher degrees in our Universities.  Some graduates believe that it is a remedy for poor undergraduate grades while others are in it for better chances of employment.  What is the attendant cost of postgraduate education in Nigeria?  The survey of a few institutions within the country reveals the following

Table 1:  Cost of MSc programmes across Nigerian Universities (NS - Not specified. All cost are in Nigerian Naira)

Institution	Form	Acceptance	Year1	Year2	Oral exam	Remarks
FUTA	20000	40000	120000	85000	70000
FUOYE	15000	30000	120000	NS
UNN	25000	25000	96000	96000
BUK	10500	10000	130000	NS	50000	Cost is for Faculty of Sciences
UNILAG	22500	65000	75000	NS		Cost is for Faculty of Education

Table 2:  Fee structure for PhD programmes across Nigerian Universities  (NS - Not specified. All cost are in Nigerian Naira)

Institution	Form	Acceptance	Year1	Year2	Year3	Oral exam	Remarks
FUTA	20000	40000	150000	125000	100000	75000
FUOYE	15000	50000	150000	ns	ns	ns
UI	15000	40000	140000	124000	ns	ns	Faculty of Sciences
EKSU	16000	32000	181750	181750	181750	60000	N10,000 is paid per session each for PG  fee and faculty due
UNN	25000	25000	96000	96000	96000	ns
BUK	10500	10000	195000	ns	ns	95000
NSU	20000	20000	160000	ns	ns	ns
UNILAG	22500	65000	75000	75000	75000	ns	Faculty of Education
UNI ILORIN	25000	ns	125000	ns	ns	ns

NB:  The data presented here will be updated as more information become available.