Measuring the Degree of Market Power in the Export Demand for Nigerian Cocoa: An Analysis of Dutch Market

The study examined the degree of market power in the export demand for Nigerian Cocoa with focus on the Dutch Market. The study covered the periods of 1961–2007 and data comprised published national aggregates on specific trade and macroeconomic variables from reputable sources. Two Stage Least Squares (2 SLS) approach was used in the estimation after instrumenting for simultaneity and establishing stationarity alongside cointegration relationship. Findings, on the demand side, showed that the demand for cocoa increases as income of Netherlands (importing country) increases. Total production of the non– participating countries traced out a positive relationship with demand for cocoa by the importing country while the coefficient of price of Coffee (substitute crop) possessed a negative sign. On the supply relation side, the demand for the export crop has a negative sign, indicating decreasing marginal output with respect to cost while the proxy for ocean freight rate with its negative sign, imply increasing export cost. The result further showed that there is relative competitiveness in the Dutch market on the strength of a market power coefficient -0.712 with a Lerner index of 0.122. Based on the findings, the study calls for government intervention in the agricultural export subsector with the aim to revitalize the country’s agricultural export capacity and enhance her market power via increased market shares. These interventions could be in the form of input/production subsidies, targeted export promotion programs, farm settlement, expanded export processing zones to mention but a few

Effect of Working Capital Management on Profitability of Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

The study investigated the effect of working capital management on the profitability of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. Specifically the study sought to determine the extent to which Number of Days of Accounts Receivable; Number of Days of Inventory; and Number of Days of Accounts Payable affect Gross Profit Margin (GPM) of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. The study was anchored on Trade-off theory of capital structure. The study adopted co relational descriptive non-experimental research design approach based on data derived from the past annual reports of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. Data collected was analyzed using Pearson correlation technique via the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20. The study reports a positive and significant influence of Number of Days of Accounts Receivable; Number of Days of Inventory; and Number of Days of Account Payable on gross profit margin (GPM) of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. The implication of the result which showed a positive impact of working capital management variables on gross profit margin of FMN indicates that the longer the number of days it takes a firm to be paid for sales made and inventory held, the less profit it is expected to make. The study recommended that Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc should be very apt in reducing the number of days of account receivables and inventories to a reasonable minimum in order to boost profitability.Keywords: Working capital, Profitability, Accounts receivable, Accounts payable, Inventory, Flour mills, Nigeria

The critical success factors for stakeholder management in the restoration of built heritage assets in the UK

PurposeBuilt heritage or historic assets (BHAs) constructed in the pre-nineteenth century in the UK are perceived to have certain characteristics which instil cultural significance in them and have seen them become valuable to the economy of the country. The heritage sector makes significant contributions to the UK economy through provision of tourist attractive sites, construction and servicing of heritage assets, heritage conservation, research, and commercial activities carried out within and around heritage assets. These benefits have seen them draw considerable interests from diverse stakeholders within and outside the heritage sector. Hence, a lot of attention is drawn towards restoration of such assets, from stakeholders of different interests, ranging from advocacies for no alteration to complete alteration of the heritage assets. As with construction projects, conflict of interests amongst stakeholder affect the outcome of restoration projects and the purpose of this paper is to examine the critical success factors (CSFs) for managing the stakeholders to achieve the projects’ objectives. Design/methodology/approachThis paper examines the views and experiences of practitioners in the heritage sector who have been involved with BHA restoration projects. A total of 32 CSFs for stakeholder management, obtained through rigorous reviews of literature, were subjected to a severe scrutiny with eight restoration experts to determine the importance of the CSFs in restoration projects. The outcome of the exercise was a modified list of 20 CSFs which were further tested on 52 restoration practitioners in the United Kingdom (UK) using a structured questionnaire to determine the degree of importance of each of the CSFs in restoration projects and their relationships as perceived by the practitioners. FindingsThe results of the analyses performed on the data show that most of the CSFs were perceived by restoration practitioners as truly critical and vital for successful management of stakeholders in restoration of BHAs. The results also indicate that there is a strong consensus amongst a vast majority of practitioners on rankings of the CSFs. Practical implicationsThe identified CSFs could be used by the restoration practitioners as a “road map” for the development of appropriate solutions for successfully managing stakeholders associated with the promotion and BHAs restoration assets. Originality/valueAlthough CSFs for stakeholder management in construction have been studied by many scholars, no specific research could be identified prior to this study to have been done in defining the CSFs for stakeholder management in restoration projects. In this project, the authors have explored BHAs to identify and rank the CSFs for stakeholder management in restoration projects. Keywords: Built Heritage Assets, Stakeholder Management, Critical Success Factors, Restoration Projects, United Kingdom

Simulation and Experimental Validation of solar water heater operating with selected Phase Change Materials

Solar water heaters are widely known for their application in the domestic sector for heating water using free sunlight. However, the stochastic nature of sunlight especially in the tropical parts of the world, has created the need for some form of thermal energy storage to buffer the effect of the randomly varying solar insolation, and also to ensure a steady hot water delivery even during the night time, when the solar insolation is absent. This paper experimentally and numerically studies (using CFD software) the behavior of a solar water heater operating in the tropical climate of Nsukka, Nigeria, (Latitude 6.854oN longitude 7.29oE), incorporated with cetyl alcohol (Melting point: 47℃-50℃), palmitic acid (Melting point: 63℃-65℃) Myristic acid (Melting point: 50℃-53℃) and stearic acid (Melting point: 69℃-70℃)  as thermal energy stores. The experiments were carried out during the rainy season, with an average relative humidity of 83.26% and solar irradiance of 250W/m2. The maximum average collector box temperature recorded was 55.62℃. The thermal performance of a solar water heater operating with cetyl alcohol, palmitic acid, myristic acid and stearic acid was measured, paying specific attention to their charging performance and hot water delivery during nighttime. A CFD model is also developed using ANSYS FLUENT and is used to simulate the collector box, hot water and PCM temperatures. The CFD model developed, predicted the PCM and hot water temperatures with a Root Means Square Error of 3.05℃ and 3.64℃ respectively, and with a Nash Sutcliffe accuracy of 98% and 99% respectively. Keywords: Energy Storage, CFD, Solar Water Heater, Latent Heat, Collector, Solar Energy DOI: 10.7176/JETP/10-5-05 Publication date:September 30th 202

Occurrence and recalcitrance of polyethylene bag waste in Nigerian soils

Attempts to biodegrade polyethylene bag wastes (pure water sachets) weighing 25.2 g each were made by burying them in the soil and subjecting them to acid treatment (0.5 M HNO3) and alkaline treatment (0.5 M NaOH) over a 24 week study period. The experimental polyethylene bags (ED1) were inoculated with a strain of Pseudomonas spp. isolated from a refuse dump and by inorganic nutrient supplementation to facilitate biodegradation. Samples without inorganic nutrient supplementation and Pseudomonas spp. inoculation served as first control (CD1), while those placed on a slab on the surface of the soil served as second control (CD2) to evaluate the roles played by microorganisms and physical degradation, respectively. ED1 showed a slight reduction in weight to 24.9 g at week 16 after the acid treatment for 5 days and further reduced to 24.7 g at the end of the study after the alkaline treatment. CD1 reflected no variations in weight, while CD2 reduced to 25.1 g. The study showed that recycling of used pure water sachets which yielded useful products such as water seal, polyethylene bags and jerry can covers, appears to be the only option of checking environmental pollution caused by this product as microbial degradation proved ineffective.Key words: Biodegradation, polyethylene, waste, recycling, recalcitrance

The Free Trade Debate, Economic Recession and the Global South since 2000AD

The end of the Cold War, which came on the heels of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the near-collapse of the Soviet-styled communist ideology, paved the way for globalization and the entrenchment of a Western-styled economic system hinged on free enterprises. Free enterprises encourage such liberal economic programmes as private initiative and entrepreneurship, accumulation of capital, de-regulation, competition, and trade liberalization, among others. Most developing countries, without much choice, got integrated into this global capitalist system. How they fare as regards economic growth and development is determined by an objective research and interpretation of available data on their economic performance since the trend of “free trade” absorbed them in the global capitalism. The debate on the credibility of “free trade” as a determinant of mutual economic growth and development has been prevalent in international political economy discourse since the 18th century. The credibility of “free trade” has been called into question, especially its effects on the countries of the global South or the developing economies. This study assesses the debate on free trade over the years and how this trend affects the countries of the South in the 21st century economic recession. Most of the scholars and experts of the developing world extraction vehemently kick against the premature integration of the developing economies into the already established western capitalism. They blame the adverse effects of the recession on the South on this unequal relationship. This study also presents some of their arguments. The work makes use of diverse secondary and tertiary sources and the thematic historical approach in the interpretation and discussion of the accounts presented.Key words: Free trade, globalization, economic recession, and global Sout

Studies on the male partners of couples presenting with infertility

A prospective study of 1000 males attending the infertility clinics of three tertiary health institutions was carried out, examining their spermogram, seminal fructose concentration and body mass index (BMI). The twogroups (of 500 males partners each) examined were those of queried infertile by the clinicians and those of proven fertility (fertile men with time to pregnancy (TTP) . 12 months as reference group). Questionnaires andoral interviews were administered to the patients and subjects to reveal their occupational and medical histories, health conditions, working conditions, smoking habits and lifestyles. An inverse relationship between body mass index and the total number of sperm cells per subjects was observed. There was no relationship between the seminal fructose concentration and seminal activity. The mean percentage motility of spermatozoa was found to be statistically higher in fertile subjects (87.15 } 4.66 %) than in queried infertile subjects (40.70 } 22.96 %) at P <0.05. The mean percentage sperm cell count was found to be statistically higher in fertile subjects (71.74 } 15.22x10 cells/ml) than in queried infertile subjects (23.68 } 21.07x10 cells/ml) at p < 0.05. To ensure maximum fertility potential patients presenting with infertility may be advised to reduce body weight. c 2012 International Formulae Group. All rights reserved.Keywords: Body mass index, seminal fructose, motility, sperm cell count, morphology

Variations in Phosphatase Activity of Crude Oil and Used Crankase Oil Polluted Agricultural Soil.

A study of the variations in phosphatase activity of crude oil and used crankcase oil polluted agricultural soil was carried out.  Eight square metre farmland was cleared and divided into seven lots (A, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3) of 60 cm2 each with 30 cm2 spaces in between them. Six out of the seven lots were polluted with three different concentrations of bonny light crude oil and used crankcase oil. The results showed a decrease in both alkaline and acid phosphatase activities mainly at the topsoil, with lowest alkaline phosphatase values of 0.6440+0.0026 I.U.L-1 and 0.6440+0.0051 I.U.L-1 for weeks 7 and 8 of 6 dm3 bonny light crude oil and used crankcase oil respectively. Lowest acid phosphatase activities was observed in week 5 of 6 dm3 bonny light crude oil and used crankcase oil  with values of 0.0370+0.0039 I.U.L-1 and 0.0305+0.0037 I.U.L-1 respectively . Key words: Hydrocarbons, Pollution, Soil, Enzyme, Phosphatase

The Effect of Modification Methods on the Properties of Lentinus Tuber Regium Powders

The current work considered the influence of methods of modification on the physical characteristics of Lentinus Tuber Regium (LTR) powders. The sclerotia of the LTR was pulverized to 250.0 μm and coded as native Lentinus Tuber Regium (NLTR-A). A 500.0 g of NLTR-A was submerged in 3.5 % w/v sodium hypochlorite and stirred continuously for 30.0 min. The resultant slurry was washed severally with purified water until it was neutral to litmus. The mass was dried in an oven at 60.0 °C for 2.0 h, pulverized (250.0 μm) and was noted as the modified Lentinus Tuber Regiumpowder (MLTR-B). Another 500.0 g of NLTR-A was extracted with 70.0 % v/v ethanol in a Soxhlet extractor. The resultant powder was dried at 60.0 o C for 2.0 h, micronized (250.0 μm) and coded as the modified Lentinus Tuber Regium powder (MLTR-C). Additional 500.0 g of NLTR-A was submerged in 600.0 mL of 0.5 N sodium hydroxide in a 1.0 L beaker and shaken constantly for 30.0 min. The subsequent material was splashed with purified water until the material was neutral to litmus. The mass was freed from water and introduced into 200.0 mL of 0.5 N hydrochloric acid. It was agitated for 30.0 min in a water bath at 100.0 °C. It was flooded in purified water until it was neutral to litmus. The product was dried to constant weight at 60.0 °C and pulverized (250.0 μm). The product was coded as the modified Lentinus Tuber Regium powder (MLTR-D). Generally, NLTR-A, MLTR-B, MLTR-C and MLTR-D were investigated for their organoleptic, solubility, pH, moisture studies, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffractometry (XRD), flow parameters and densities. The results showed that both the native and the modified powders were insoluble in water and most organic solvents. The pH of the derived powders was consistently higher. SEM and XRD revealed morphological differences in each of the derived powders, though, all the powders were non-crystalline. The respective modification methods brought about an improvement in the hydrophilic and flow properties of the modified powders when compared to the native form of LT

Microbial Quality of Commercially Packed Fruit Juices in South-East Nigeria

The microbiological quality of commercially packed fruit juices sold in South-East Nigeria were assessed. A total of forty (40) juice samples consisting of orange, apple, pineapple, lemon, and guava flavoured varieties were collected. Samples were screened for total viable count, total coliform count, faecal coliform count, total staphylococcal count and total fungal count using standard microbiological methods. The highest total bacteria load of 4.4×105 cfu/ml was observed in sample A (Orange) while the lowest was observed in sample D of Apple variety (1.95×104 cfu/ml). The total coliform count ranged from no count in samples A, B, C and D to 9.8×101 cfu/ml in sample I (Guava juice). In all the samples, there was no faecal coliform found. The staphylococcal count ranged from no count in samples E, F, I and J to 8.4×102 cfu/ml in sample G (lemon juice). The highest total fungal count of 1.6×105 cfu/ml was observed in sample I (Guava) and the lowest count was observed to be 1.2×103 cfu/ml in an apple juice (sample D). The microorganisms isolated from the samples included Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus species, Enterobacter species, Acetobacter species, Lactobacillus species, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus species, Rhizopus species and Penicillium species. Bacillus species was the most common (70%), followed by S. aureus (60%), Enterobacter spp., Lactobacillus spp. and Saccharomyces cerevisiae had the same rate of 50% respectively, and Acetobacter spp. and Penicillium spp. had the same rate of 40% while the least occurrence was seen in Aspergillus spp. and Rhizopus spp. with the rate of 30% respectively. The result showed that different bacterial and fungal species occurred within the fruits juices. The materials used for the production of the juice, poor sanitation, extraction, raw material contamination, lack of both proper heat sterilization and adequate quality control during processing of fruit juice could be a contributory factor to the presence of these organisms in the fruit juices. Some of the fungal isolates especially Penicillium sp. and Aspergillus sp. could result in the production of mycotoxins, which could lead to health hazards for the consumer and their presence in the fruit juices is of public health significance. Therefore, regular monitoring of the quality of commercially available fruit juices for human consumption is recommended to avoid outbreak of food borne illness resulting from the organisms encountered in this study