TIME SERIES FORECAST MODELS FOR FOREIGN EXCHANGE MARKET IN A DEVELOPING ECONOMY

Technicalities in foreign exchange forecasting have been of interest to investors and academia, particularly in a developing economy. Data of foreign exchange are time series in nature and several techniques have been developed to modeling and forecasting foreign exchange rates. In this study, Nigeria's foreign exchange rate against three world-leading currencies (US Dollars, Euro and Pounds Sterling) are modeled with ARIMA, Auto. arima, Box-Cox, random walk forecast, and Exponential Smoothing and subjected to comparative tests using  Diebold-Mariano criteria with a modern model time series model. The empirical analysis shows that that the modern model outperforms some of the other techniques in forecasting Nigeria exchange rates against world-leading currencies particularly when the forecast horizon is low

Business Enterprises and Entrepreneurial Practices in Nigeria

This paper’s argument is based on the fact that developing entrepreneurial culture will help the country to develop business enterprises culture which would facilitate enduring economic development rather than the simplistic approach which has become rhetoric and of no effect. The objective of the paper was to determine the influence of entrepreneurship practices on business enterprise culture. Data was sourced from primary sources using questionnaire as the main instrument of data collected. The questionnaire was self administered among entrepreneurs selected randomly in Ile-Ogbo, Iperindo and Ilobu represented the three senatorial districts in Osun State. The data were empirically manipulated using Non parametric statistical tool of Chi Square analyzed on computer based statistical package (Statistical Package for Social Scientists; SPSS 20.0). It was discovered that entrepreneur practices is common among the retirees and most of them are into retail trading and that entrepreneur practices has a significant positive effect on the product innovation but that entrepreneur practices has a no significant positive relationship with Government Policies. Based on these finding it is therefore recommended that negative consequences of government policies toward development of entrepreneurial practices should be tackled to enable the country produce entrepreneurs that will transform Nigerian business enterprises to efficient and effective organizations which will have capacity to contribute meaningfully into national development. KEY WORDS: Product Innovation, strategies, orientatio

Nexus between Economic Growth and Insurance Business in Nigeria

The role of insurance sector in mitigating sudden and devastating occurrences thereby stimulating economic growth cannot be over emphasized, however, no consensus has emerged on the impact of insurance development on economic growth. Hence the need to inquire not only the growth of the insurance sector in Nigeria but also how the sector has impacted economic growth.  Data were collected from secondary sources and it was regressed using ordinary least square at 95% significant level. It was discovered that there is relationship between insurance business and economic growth within the period of study. Keywords: Insurance sector, Economic growth, investment

Investment in Education for The Nigerian Economic Development

This study examines investment in education for economic development of Nigeria. Education has been recognized globally as a veritable and strategic venture pivotal to economic transformation of any nation. The study made use of secondary data sourced from Ministry of Education, National Universities Commission (NUC) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) and an Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression method was used to analyze the data obtained to show the relationship between enrolments and funding. The result shows that the education sector contribute significantly to economic development as measured by the Gross Domestic Product although the sector is still underfunded most especially the basic and senior secondary levels in view of geometric increase in yearly enrollments and poor infrastructural facilities. The study recommends that the government at all levels should invest more in education and also collaborate with private sector through Private Public Partnership (PPP) initiative to accumulate the much needed funding that will pave way for technological development. It will also guide against brain-drains and significantly alleviate overdependence on aids from the developed nations and educational organizations

The Chemistry of Benzo and Carbocyclic Derivatives of Pyridine

The chemistry of pyridine and its derivatives is of considerable importance in the synthesis of intermediates leading to biologically active compounds and novel materials. Generally, derivatives of pyridine are stable and relatively unreactive but can be attacked by electrophiles at ring nitrogen and certain carbon atoms. Pyridines undergo radical substitution reactions preferentially at the 2-position. Simple pyridines and their benzo derivatives are weak bases that form salts with strong acids. Various Lewis acids form complexes with pyridine and its benzo derivatives. The quaternization of pyridine and its benzo derivatives using alkyl and acyl halides have been used as versatile synthetic intermediates to biologically active compounds as final products. Precursors to cyanine dyes have been prepared by means of the 1,4-addition of pyridines and quinolines to acrylamide. N-oxides, obtained by the oxidation of pyridine and its benzo analogues, are versatile intermediates in organic synthesis

Synthesis of Schiff Bases by Non-Conventional Methods

A Schiff base is a compound with the general structure R1R2C=NR’. They can be considered a subclass of imines. The term Schiff base is normally applied when these compounds are used as ligands to form coordination complexes with metal ions. Schiff bases can be synthesised from a primary aliphatic or aromatic amine and a carbonyl compound by nucleophilic addition forming a hemiaminal, followed by a dehydration to generate an imine. In other words, a Schiff base is a nitrogen analogue of a ketone or aldehyde where the carbonyl group has been replaced by azomethine or imine group. The imine group present in these compounds has been shown to be critical to their biological activities. Schiff bases have been frequently used in various fields such as medicine, pharmaceutical purposes due to their wide range of industrial applications. The unconventional methods of preparation of Schiff bases, compared with traditional methods, are more convenient, and reactions can be carried out in higher yield, shorter reaction time and milder conditions, without generation of pollution and safer to analyse

Rice Pests in the Ivory Coast, West Africa: Farmers’ Perceptions and Management Strategies

An understanding of farmers’ perceptions of pests and their existing pest control methods can make an important contribution to the development of effective integrated pest management strategies. While the relatively successful rice IPM technologies in Asia have been extensively documented in studies examining farmers’ pest perceptions and management practices, studies examining, specifically, perceptions and management practices of West African rice farmers are rare. This may reflect the more limited success to date in the implementation of rice IPM strategies in the region. This paper describes rice pests, pest perceptions, and management practices of smallholder rice farmers in the Ivory Coast. It was found that the major rice pests, as perceived by farmers, are weeds, vertebrates (birds and rodents), and insects. Farmers are generally unable to diagnose rice plant diseases and thus did not consider them as important production constraints. Implications are derived for an integrated pest management strategy that incorporates farmers’ perceptions and builds on their existing cultural control practices

Determinants of utilisation of traditional birth attendant services by pregnant women in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

Background: This study was designed to assess the determinants of utilization of Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) services by pregnant women in different communities in Ogbomoso, Nigeria.Methods: This was a community- based cross-sectional study. Fisher's formula was used to calculate the sample size and a total of 270 eligible pregnant women were enrolled for the study using multistage sampling technique. Data was collected using pretested structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20 and results were presented in frequencies and percentages.Results: Factors found to have a significant influence on the utilization of TBA services in this study include: low educational status (p <0.001), lower socioeconomic status (p <0.001), and compassionate care given by the TBAs (p=0.004). Other factors include service proximity and lower cost of TBA services.Conclusions: The impact of TBAs and their services cannot be overemphasized in the present state of maternal and child health in Nigeria.  Lower educational status among others has been found to be a strong predictor of utilization of TBA services. There is, therefore, the need to improve the educational and socioeconomic status of women in order to allow them to access quality health care services that will safeguard their well-being. Inculcating compassionate care into orthodox healthcare delivery will go a long way to improve patronage and discourage TBA utilization

Investigating the Possible Threats from Vegetal Cover Removal and Open Dumpsite to Groundwater Quality

This study investigated the possible groundwater quality threats from excessive removal of vegetation due to urban growth in an open dumpsite in Waterloo, Brong Ahafo Region, Ghana. 15 water samples were collected from five (5) functional Hand-dug wells at increasing distance from the dumpsite. The samples were assessed for some physico-chemical parameters. Descriptive statistics were applied to investigate the quality of groundwater samples from the Hand-dug wells. The groundwater was slightly acidic. Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Total Coliform count were high for the groundwater samples but total dissolved solids (TDS) were within the permissible limits of Ghana Ministry of Water Resources (GMWR) and WHO. Analysed parameters such as Ca2+, Na+, Cl- and Cu conformed to the prescribed limits of GMWR and WHO for drinking water while Pb was above the permissible limits of both. &nbsp;Fe2+ conformed to the limit by GMWR but was above WHO. Cd was above the permissible limit of GMWR but fell within that of WHO. Urban growth effects investigated through the use of Landsat images of 1986, 2000, 2006 and 2011 with the aid of ArcGIS 10.5 and ENVI 4.7 revealed that the study area, within these years, drastically reduced in forest cover due to the increase in built-up and has the tendency to cause contamination to groundwater in the area

Comparative Study of Antimicrobial Potency and Phytochemical Analysis of Methanolic Extracts of the Leaf and Flower of Luffa cylindrica

Leaf and flower methanolic extracts of Luffa cylindrica were investigated for antimicrobial activities and phytochemical constituents. The extracts were tested against four bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Salmonella typhi) and two fungal strains (Aspergillus niger and Candida albicans) by using the agar-well diffusion method while the phytochemical constituents were quantified using standard procedures. The result of the antimicrobial activity revealed that the methanolic leaf extract was more potent than that of the flower against bacterial strains used while methanolic flower extract exhibited a better antifungal activity against Candida albicans and A. niger. The phytochemicals analysed include alkaloid, tannin, saponin, phytate and oxalate which were quantitatively higher in flower extract that leaf extract. The methanolic extract of the leaves and flowers of Luffa cylindrica holds great promise for the development of effective drugs for the treatment of bacterial infections and more efficiently against Candida albicans infection. Keywords: Luffa cylindrica, antimicrobial activity, phytochemical, agar-well diffusion, methanolic extract