Types of Corruption in Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in Ibadan, Nigeria

Corruption is a phenomenon that manifests in various types and forms especially among operators of Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs). Many actions of the operators which constitute corrupt practices often tend to be overlooked in spite of their grave consequences for the success SMEs in Nigeria. The fight against corruption in Nigeria is more concentrated in the formal sector. This study was, therefore, designed to investigate various forms in which corrupt practices are carried out among Small and Micro Enterprises in Ibadan, Nigeria. Business owners, their employees, apprentices and consumers constituted the study population. Primary data were collected using questionnaire administered on 200 business owners, 150 employees and 150 apprentices randomly chosen in five business districts in Ibadan; and the conduct of 10 in-depth interviews with purposively selected participants. Quantitative data were analysed at uni-variate level using simple percentages and frequencies while qualitative data were content analysed. Findings from the study revealed that corrupt practices were rampant among actors in SMEs and the common types of corrupt practices included stealing (60%), deception of customers (78.4%), tax evasion (62%), sale of fake products (76%), sale of expired products (65.2%), tampering with measurement scales (69.6%), bribery (82.4%), and poor service delivery (73%). The study concludes that the level of corruption in SMEs calls for concern and government should extend the fight against corruption to the informal sector in Nigeria

Will climate mitigation ambitions lead to carbon neutrality? An analysis of the local-level plans of 327 cities in the EU

Cities across the globe recognise their role in climate mitigation and are acting to reduce carbon emissions. Knowing whether cities set ambitious climate and energy targets is critical for determining their contribution towards the global 1.5 °C target, partly because it helps to identify areas where further action is necessary. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the mitigation targets of 327 European cities, as declared in their local climate plans. The sample encompasses over 25% of the EU population and includes cities of all sizes across all Member States, plus the UK. The study analyses whether the type of plan, city size, membership of climate networks, and its regional location are associated with different levels of mitigation ambition. Results reveal that 78% of the cities have a GHG emissions reduction target. However, with an average target of 47%, European cities are not on track to reach the Paris Agreement: they need to roughly double their ambitions and efforts. Some cities are ambitious, e.g. 25% of our sample (81) aim to reach carbon neutrality, with the earliest target date being 2020.90% of these cities are members of the Climate Alliance and 75% of the Covenant of Mayors. City size is the strongest predictor for carbon neutrality, whilst climate network(s) membership, combining adaptation and mitigation into a single strategy, and local motivation also play a role. The methods, data, results and analysis of this study can serve as a reference and baseline for tracking climate mitigation ambitions across European and global cities

Plasma protein Z and protein C inhibitors and their role in hypercoagulability of thalassemia

A hypercoagulable state has been described in thalassemia patients, partly due to a deficiency of inhibitors, protein C (PC) in particular. Since a potential role of a new hemostatic factor named protein Z (PZ) has been reported in hypercoagulability, we evaluated plasma PZ and PC levels in thalassemia and their possible relation to the hypercoagulable state. Sixty subjects with thalassemia major and 10 with thalassemia intermedia (TI) followed at our Department were enrolled in the study. An age-matched control group of healthy subjects was considered. PZ, thrombin-antithrombin complexes, PC concentration (PC:Ag) and activity (PC:Act) were measured. PZ, PC:Ag and PC:Act were significantly lower in thalassemia major and thalassemia intermedia subjects than in 30 healthy controls (p < 0.001), while thrombin-antithrombin complex levels were significantly increased (p < 0.001) and related to PC levels but not to PZ levels (p < 0.05). PZ and PC levels are reduced in thalassemia but only PC has an effect on the thalassemia hypercoagulable state