Decentralized Collective Bargaining and Salary Differentials in the Civil Services in Nigeria

The study examined the effects of decentralized collective bargaining on salary differentials and industrial harmony in the Civil Services in Nigeria. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaire and oral interview in six selected Civil services in Nigeria. Interviews were also conducted with Directors of Establishment in each of the selected Civil Services and secretaries of the Association of Senior Civil Servants in Oyo, Kwara, Kaduna, Adamawa, Cross Rivers and Enugu states representing a state in each of the six geo-political zone. Secondary data were collected through official documents of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics. The study revealed that decentralised collective bargaining has led to deregulation of salary grade structures in the Civil Services in the country, presently there exists 13 salary grade structures for various professionals respectively in the Civil Services. Further decentralized collective bargaining was the major cause of salary differentials in the Civil Services in Nigeria as recorded by 76.4% of the respondents. Similarly, decentralized collective bargaining was the major cause of industrial conflicts in the Civil Services in the country as recorded by 85% of the respondents. The study concluded that decentralized collective bargaining to be modified in line with ecology of administration in Nigeria in order to make salaries competitive in  the public sector

Strategic Human Resources Management practices in the Post Consolidated Nigerian commercial banks

One of the major issues that require attention in the recent banking sector reform in Nigeria is the human resources management of the newly consolidated banks. Current researches show that Human resources management (HRM) practices are importance for enhanced corporate performance. However, little has been reported on the effect of HRM and corporate performance in the post consolidation era of the Nigerian banking industry. Drawing on the extensive body of research on strategic human resource management (SHRM), this paper examines the effects of SHRM practices on banks performance during significant post consolidation era in a developing economy like Nigeria. This study tries to understand the role of innovative HRM practices and specifically questions how HRM practices, such as the role of HR department, recruitment, retraining and redeployment, performance appraisal and compensation, enhance corporate performance during the post consolidation era. A multiple-respondent survey of 150 staff of the selected consolidated banks in Nigeria was undertaken to study the impact of innovative HRM practices on banks performance. The data collected from structured questionnaire was analysed using descriptive statistics and hypotheses tested using Mean Score. The survey found that the innovative recruitment and compensation practices were ranked higher at influencing banks performance. It was observed that recruitment, the role of the HR department and compensation practices seem to be significantly changing within the Nigerian banks in the context of Consolidation. Keywords: Innovative HRM; Consolidation; post consolidation era; Nigerian banks; consolidated banks; performanc

Needful Implements in Improving the Study and Scholastic Skills of Nigerian Secondary School Students

Showing concern about the consistent depreciation in expected study and scholastic behaviours among Secondary School students and the trailing failure in school test and exams and public exams, the authors gathered empirical report on the chosen variables among a randomly selected 1,200 secondary school students in JSS I, II, III, SSS I, II, III in 10 rural and urban centers Secondary schools among the 141 in Ekiti State. The data came from the author designed scholastic and study skills inventory on the sample. The result indicated a no significant different in the poor level of scholastic and study skills among the population. Recommendations were in the direction of the need to launching and begin the practice of the “STAR” program (Oana, 1981) by counsellors in the secondary schools as a means of reversing the trend of the unhealthy development

Characterising rag-forming solids

In oil sands froth treatment, an undesirable intermediate layer, often accumulates during the separation of water-oil emulsions. The layer referred to as rag layer is a complex mixture of water, oil, solids and interfacially active components. The presence of a rag layer has a detrimental impact on the separation of water and fine solids from diluted bitumen. The current study focuses on characterisation of solids from a rag layer forming stream of a naphthenic froth treatment plant in an attempt to understand the mechanism of rag layer formation. Through detailed characterisation of rag-forming and non-rag-forming solids, the mineralogy of solids and their contamination were shown to be critical to rag layer formation. The iron-based minerals such as siderite and pyrite were found to be enriched within the rag layer. Analysis of surface organic complexes confirms a high level of organic matter associated with these solids through the binding of carboxylic acid group with iron on solids, resulting in a surface hydrophobicity susceptible for rag layer formation

Evaluation of the genotype, environment and its interaction on carotenoid and ascorbic acid accumulation in tomato germplasm

[EN] BACKGROUND: Tomatoes are an important source of antioxidants (carotenoids, vitamin C, etc.) owing to their high level of consumption. There is great interest in developing cultivars with increased levels of lycopene, beta-carotene or L-ascorbic acid. There is necessary to survey new sources of variation. In this study, the potential of improvement for each character in tomato breeding programmes, in a single or joint approach, and the nature of genotype (G), environment (E) and G x E interaction effects in the expression of these characters were investigated. RESULTS: The content of lycopene, beta-carotene and ascorbic acid determined was very high in some phenotypes (up to 281, 35 and 346 mg kg(-1) respectively). The important differences in the three environments studied (with some stressing conditions in several situations) had a remarkable influence in the phenotypic expression of the functional characters evaluated. Nevertheless, the major contribution came from the genotypic effect along with a considerable G x E interaction. CONCLUSION: The joint accumulation of lycopene and beta-carotene has a high genetic component. It is possible to select elite genotypes with high content of both carotenoids in tomato breeding programmes but multi-environment trials are recommended. The improvement of ascorbic acid content is more difficult because the interference of uncontrolled factors mask the real genetic potential. Among the accessions evaluated, there are four accessions with an amazing genetic potential for functional properties that can be used as donor parents in tomato breeding programmes or for direct consumption in quality markets. (C) 2011 Society of Chemical IndustryThis research was financed by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) (project AGL2005-08083-C03-01). The authors thank Professor Jun Zhu, director of the Bioinformatics Institute, Zhejiang University, China, for his comments and for the software used in the data analyses.Rosello Ripolles, S.; Adalid Martínez, AM.; Cebolla Cornejo, J.; Nuez Viñals, F. (2011). Evaluation of the genotype, environment and its interaction on carotenoid and ascorbic acid accumulation in tomato germplasm. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 91(6):1014-1021. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.4276S10141021916Bouma, J., Varallyay, G., & Batjes, N. . (1998). Principal land use changes anticipated in Europe. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 67(2-3), 103-119. doi:10.1016/s0167-8809(97)00109-6Menrad, K. (2003). Market and marketing of functional food in Europe. Journal of Food Engineering, 56(2-3), 181-188. doi:10.1016/s0260-8774(02)00247-9Beecher, G. R. (1998). Nutrient Content of Tomatoes and Tomato Products. Experimental Biology and Medicine, 218(2), 98-100. doi:10.3181/00379727-218-44282aMayne, S. T. (1996). Beta-carotene, carotenoids, and disease prevention in humans. The FASEB Journal, 10(7), 690-701. doi:10.1096/fasebj.10.7.8635686Lenucci, M. S., Caccioppola, A., Durante, M., Serrone, L., Piro, G., & Dalessandro, G. (2007). CAROTENOIDS CONTENT IN RIPE RAW AND PROCESSED (SAUCE) BERRIES OF HIGH PIGMENT TOMATO HYBRIDS. Acta Horticulturae, (758), 173-180. doi:10.17660/actahortic.2007.758.19Stevens, M. A., & Rick, C. M. (1986). Genetics and breeding. The Tomato Crop, 35-109. doi:10.1007/978-94-009-3137-4_2Hanson, P. M., Yang, R., Wu, J., Chen, J., Ledesma, D., Tsou, S. C. S., & Lee, T.-C. (2004). Variation for Antioxidant Activity and Antioxidants in Tomato. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 129(5), 704-711. doi:10.21273/jashs.129.5.0704Abushita, A. A., Daood, H. G., & Biacs, P. A. (2000). Change in Carotenoids and Antioxidant Vitamins in Tomato as a Function of Varietal and Technological Factors. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 48(6), 2075-2081. doi:10.1021/jf990715pAdalid, A. M., Roselló, S., & Nuez, F. (2010). Evaluation and selection of tomato accessions (Solanum section Lycopersicon) for content of lycopene, β-carotene and ascorbic acid. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 23(6), 613-618. doi:10.1016/j.jfca.2010.03.001Hamner, K. C., Bernstein, L., & Maynard, L. A. (1945). Effects of Light Intensity, Day Length, Temperature, and Other Environmental Factors on the Ascorbic Acid Content of Tomatoes. The Journal of Nutrition, 29(2), 85-97. doi:10.1093/jn/29.2.85Kuti, J. O., & Konuru, H. B. (2005). Effects of genotype and cultivation environment on lycopene content in red-ripe tomatoes. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 85(12), 2021-2026. doi:10.1002/jsfa.2205Lavi, N., Tadmor, Y., Meir, A., Bechar, A., Oren-Shamir, M., Ovadia, R., … Levin, I. (2009). Characterization of theINTENSE PIGMENTTomato Genotype Emphasizing Targeted Fruit Metabolites and Chloroplast Biogenesis. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 57(11), 4818-4826. doi:10.1021/jf900190rGaliana-Balaguer, L., Roselló, S., Herrero-Martı́nez, J. M., Maquieira, A., & Nuez, F. (2001). Determination of -Ascorbic Acid in Lycopersicon Fruits by Capillary Zone Electrophoresis. Analytical Biochemistry, 296(2), 218-224. doi:10.1006/abio.2001.5297Zhu, J., & Weir, B. S. (1996). Diallel analysis for sex-linked and maternal effects. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 92(1), 1-9. doi:10.1007/bf00222944Rao, C. R. (1971). Estimation of variance and covariance components—MINQUE theory. Journal of Multivariate Analysis, 1(3), 257-275. doi:10.1016/0047-259x(71)90001-7Benjamini, Y., & Hochberg, Y. (2000). On the Adaptive Control of the False Discovery Rate in Multiple Testing With Independent Statistics. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 25(1), 60-83. doi:10.3102/10769986025001060Holden, J. M., Eldridge, A. L., Beecher, G. R., Marilyn Buzzard, I., Bhagwat, S., Davis, C. S., … Schakel, S. (1999). Carotenoid Content of U.S. Foods: An Update of the Database. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 12(3), 169-196. doi:10.1006/jfca.1999.0827Gould, W. A. (1992). Tomato Production, Processing and Technology. doi:10.1533/9781845696146Shigeoka, S. (2002). Regulation and function of ascorbate peroxidase isoenzymes. Journal of Experimental Botany, 53(372), 1305-1319. doi:10.1093/jexbot/53.372.1305Adalid, A. M., Roselló, S., Cebolla-Cornejo, J., & Nuez, F. (2008). EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF LYCOPERSICON ACCESSIONS FOR HIGH CAROTENOID AND VITAMIN C CONTENT. Acta Horticulturae, (789), 221-228. doi:10.17660/actahortic.2008.789.30Leoni, C. (1992). INDUSTRIAL QUALITY AS INFLUENCED BY CROP MANAGEMENT. Acta Horticulturae, (301), 177-184. doi:10.17660/actahortic.1992.301.20Hamauzu, Y., Chachin, K., & Ueda, Y. (1998). Effect of Postharvest Storage Temperature on the Conversion of 14C-Mevalonic Acid to Carotenes in Tomato Fruit. Engei Gakkai zasshi, 67(4), 549-555. doi:10.2503/jjshs.67.549McCOLLUM, J. P. (1954). EFFECTS OF LIGHT ON THE FORMATION OF CAROTENOIDS IN TOMATO FRUITS. Journal of Food Science, 19(1-6), 182-189. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1954.tb17437.xBaqar, M. R., & Lee, T. H. (1978). Interaction of CPTA and High Temperature on Carotenoid Synthesis in Tomato Fruit. Zeitschrift für Pflanzenphysiologie, 88(5), 431-435. doi:10.1016/s0044-328x(78)80259-1LIPTAY, A., PAPADOPOULOS, A. P., BRYAN, H. H., & GULL, D. (1986). Ascorbic acid levels in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) at low temperatures. Agricultural and Biological Chemistry, 50(12), 3185-3187. doi:10.1271/bbb1961.50.3185Adegoroye, A. S., & Jolliffe, P. A. (1987). Some inhibitory effects of radiation stress on tomato fruit ripening. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 39(4), 297-302. doi:10.1002/jsfa.2740390404Hirschberg, J. (2001). Carotenoid biosynthesis in flowering plants. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 4(3), 210-218. doi:10.1016/s1369-5266(00)00163-1Martínez-Valverde, I., Periago, M. J., Provan, G., & Chesson, A. (2002). Phenolic compounds, lycopene and antioxidant activity in commercial varieties of tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 82(3), 323-330. doi:10.1002/jsfa.103

Behaviour of dolomite, olivine and alumina as primary catalysts in air-steam gasification of sewage sludge

Sewage sludge gasification assays were performed in an atmospheric fluidised bed reactor using air and air–steam mixtures as the gasifying agents. Dolomite, olivine and alumina are three well known tar removal catalysts used in biomass gasification processing. However, little information is available regarding their performance in sewage sludge gasification. The aim of the current study was to learn about the influence of these three catalysts in the product distribution and tar production during sewage sludge gasification. To this end, a set of assays was performed in which the temperature (750–850 °C), the in-bed catalyst content (0, 10 and 15 wt.%) and the steam–biomass ratio (SB) in the range of 0–1 were varied with a constant equivalence ratio (ER) of 0.3. The results were compared to the results from gasification without a catalyst. We show that dolomite has the highest activity in tar elimination, followed by alumina and olivine. In addition to improving tar removal, the presence of water vapour and the catalysts increased the content of H2 in the gases by nearly 60%

The Roles Of Selected Ngos In Economic Empowerment Of Rural Women In Ibadanland, Nigeria

The study examined the roles of NGOs (Farmers Development Union; FADU and Community Women and Development- Nigeria; COWAD) in economic empowerment of rural women in Ibadanland, Nigeria. It determined the factors militating against women economic empowerment, assessed the strategies used by the NGOs and as well identified the constraints facing the NGOs in the study area. Primary data were collected through questionnaire; one hundred and ninety questionnaires were administered in randomly selected twenty-six (26) villages in four local government areas of Ibadanland. Secondary data were collected through the official documents of the NGOs. Collected data were analyzed with descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution and percentages. The study revealed that lack of finance accounted for 20.76% of the total factors militating against women economic empowerment in the study area. Others are lack of access to credit facility (19.87%); cultural practices (19.63%), lack of access to farmland (18.42%) in accessibility to information (17.74%); and uncooperative attitude of their husbands (3.58%). Strategies such as support services (18.28%); awareness campaign (17.37%); training programme (16.67%); soft loan (16.27%); and capacity building (15.37%) were used by NGOs to empower the rural women in the study area. However, NGOs encountered problems such as insufficient funds (20.2%); high rate of defaults (18.1%); illiteracy (17.2%); misapplication of loans on social functions (15.3%); irregularity in meeting attendance (15.1%) and poor roads (14.1%) in the study area. Notwithstanding, the strategies of the NGOs have been effective in the economic empowerment of rural women in the study area. Gender & Behaviour Vol. 6 (2) 2008: pp. 1870-188

Strategic planning for department stores A comparative analysis of Nigerian and British stores

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D79721 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo