Board Composition and Corporate Performance: An Analysis of Evidence from Nigeria

This study examines the impact of board composition on the economic performance of firms in Nigeria. This study is significant because it attempts to analyze the relationship between corporate governance practices and financial performance in Nigeria thus providing a basis for a framework for institutional regulations. Board composition in this study is in terms of the proportion of the board of directors in Nigeria that is represented by outside non-executive directors. The hypothesis for the study is that there is no significant positive relationship between board composition and firm performance in Nigeria. The study uses a cross-sectional design, using a survey of a sample of 38 firms during the 2009 financial year. Results show that outside non-executive directors do not create any economic value added though may have some benefits. The results of the study are consistent with those of earlier studies for both developed and developing economies that there is no explicitly clear relationship between board composition and firm performance. Key words: Board composition, Corporate performance, Corporate governance, Non-executive directors

Bioaerosol Emission From MSW Open Dumpsites And The Impact On Exposure And Associated Health Risks

The activities associated with the open dumping of municipal solid waste emit air pollutants, including bioaerosols that contaminates the air around dumpsites, rendering it unsafe for dumpsite workers and residents living near dumpsites. Quantitative data on the exposure to bioaerosols from open dumpsites are scarce, thus impeding the development of effective interventions that would reduce the risk of respiratory diseases among dumpsite workers and residents living near dumpsites. The specific objectives for this study included (i) to identify the key working areas and activities of the workers at open dumpsites; (ii) to identify the most important groups of local residents that may be affected by contaminated air due to the waste management activities carried out at open dumpsites; (iii) to obtain background information regarding the respiratory health condition of the workers and the local residents in order to determine the extent to which they suffer respiratory diseases that may be related to exposure to the contaminated air from dumpsite; (iv) to measure the concentrations of bioaerosols at key locations on the open dumpsite to determine the impact of different waste management activities and seasonal variations on bioaerosol concentrations; (v) to analyse the bioaerosol data and to compare the ambient concentrations to concentrations at the controls; (vi) to quantify the potential health risk associated with exposure to pathogenic bioaerosols from the open dumpsites using the Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) tool. A cross sectional respiratory health survey was conducted in the study area between 12th -27th January 2017 with a total 414 respondents (workers = 149, resident = 145 and control = 120). A six-stage Anderson sampler and the SKC button sampler were used to measure ambient bioaerosol concentration and exposure concentration during key activities at the dumpsite respectively. The four bioaerosols indicator groups (total bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, Aspergillus fumigatus and total fungi) measured were expressed as cfu m-3. Using the Markov chain model, the deposition of inhaled bioaerosols in the workers lungs was computed. The infection risk estimates were computed using the beta-Poisson dose response model and the results reported within the QMRA framework. The result of the cross-sectional survey shows that cough was the most reported by the respondents. In all, up to 27% of respondents reported one or more symptoms of cough and phlegm and up to 8.7% reported three or more symptoms (cough, phlegm, asthma etc.). On the dumpsite, while chronic cough particularly affected smokers, it had a prevalence of 38%. Chronic phlegm and asthma was prevalent at 31% and 2% respectively. Only chronic cough and chronic phlegm showed prevalence that were significantly higher that the controls (p 5 years showed was not associated chronic cough, chronic phlegm asthma. Among residents, chronic cough particularly affected the non-smokers and had the prevalence of 31.7%. Chronic phlegm and asthma was prevalent at 28.9% and 8.2% respectively. Only chronic cough and chronic phlegm showed significantly higher prevalence compared to the control (p < 0.001). Daily exposure duration was also associated with chronic cough with odds ratio of 1.2 (95% CI 1.1–1.3, p < 0.001) but not with chronic phlegm and asthma. The frequent visit of a resident to the dumpsite had an associated odds ratio of 3.8 (95% CI 1.6–8.4, p < 0.001), 4 (95% CI 1.1-14.4, p < 0.05) and 6.8 (95% CI 1.3-33, p < 0.01) for chronic cough, chronic phlegm and asthma respectively, when compared to the controls. Only years of work <10 years showed associated with chronic cough with odds ratio 4.2 (95% CI 1.4–12.4, p < 0.01) when compared to the controls. At the 95th percentile, the ambient concentration of total bacteria was 2189 cfu m-3, gram-negative bacteria 2352 cfu m-3, total fungi 824 cfu m-3 and Aspergillus fumigatus 300 cfu m-3, and were significantly higher in magnitude than the control by 2-3 log (p< 0.05). The concentration of bioaerosols at the active operational area was the highest in comparison to the other three sampling locations. However, there were no significant differences in concentration across the four sampling points for total bacteria, gram-negative bacteria and the total fungi. Aspergillus fumigatus, on the other hand, recorded a drastic decrease in concentrations up to 80-81% between the active operational area and the boundary. The particle size distribution shows that the workers were at risk of inhaling air contacting 41%, 46%, 63%, 76% of total bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, total fungi and Aspergillus fumigatus respectively, that were of sizes capable of penetrating deep into the tracheobronchial and the pulmonary region of the lungs, posing a greater human health risk. This study has shown that exposure to bioaerosols were also associated with specific activities undertaken at the dumpsite. Workers were exposed to bioaerosol concentrations up to 106 cfu m-3 during scavenging, waste sorting and site monitoring. These concentrations were 3-log higher than the mean concentration measured in the ambient air. The result shows that on a daily basis, workers were likely inhaling bioaerosols at concentrations ranging from 8.9 × 105 -1.8 × 107 cfu m-3 of total bacteria, 4.0× 105-8.1× 106 cfu m-3 of gram-negative bacteria and 3.29× 105-1.5× 106 cfu m-3 of Aspergillus fumigatus that were of sizes capable of penetrating deep into the tracheobronchial and the pulmonary region of the lungs when undertaking scavenging, waste sorting and site monitoring. These concentrations were higher than expected limit by the UK Environment Agency. The result of the QMRA showed that that the activities at the dumpsite may contribute more to the likelihood of workers developing either respiratory infection or GI infection than anything else. The infection risk from inhaling contaminated air containing spores of Aspergillus fumigatus were in the magnitude of (10-1) all locations and activity types on the dumpsite. However, the risk of infection from ingesting E.coli O157:H7 from ambient exposures across all locations on the dumpsite ranged from 10-3-10-2 for the conservative and 10-4-10-3 for the least conservative of pathogen-indicator ratio. While the risk of infection due to undertaking scavenging, waste sorting and dumpsite monitoring were in the magnitude of 10-1. Overall, this study suggests that the high prevalence of respiratory disease among the workers and the residents are indications of exposure to contaminants in the air from the dumpsite, which includes bioaerosols, as the prevalence were similar among the workers and the residents. The risk estimates show that of infection from bioaerosols were high irrespective the activity the workers undertook at the dumpsite

Analgesic and Hepatoprotective Activity of Methanolic Leaf Extract of Ocimum gratissimum (L.).

The methanolic extract of Ocimum gratissimum (L.) leaves was screened for analgesic and hepatoprotective activity in albino rats, respectively. The use of the hot-plate method to study central analgesic activity of the leaves extract in albino rats indicated that the extract possesses the ability to significantly reduce pain threshold and also increase the response latency period to thermal stimuli in albino rats, similar to the reference drug acetylsalicylic acid. After treatment reaction time of albino rats was significantly increased to 10.92 sec with 40 mg kg-1 of leaves extract, whereas acetylsalicylic acid also increased reaction time to 12.53 sec with 25 mL kg-1. A decline in the reaction time beyond 1.61 sec was observed by the reference drug and leaves extract. Albino rats whose livers were damaged with a hepatotoxin-Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) 0.5 mL kg-1 i.p. were used to test for hepatoprotective properties of the plant leaves extract. It reduced significantly (p&lt;0.05) liver enzyme levels for animals treated with CCL4 (0.5 mL kg-1) and the methanolic plant leaf extract (40 mg kg-1) concurrently compared to animals treated with CCL4 only. Many histopathological changes in the liver such as marked dilation of the central vein, blood vessel congestion and inflammatory leucocytic infiltrations which were observed in the CCl4 treated animals were not observed in the CCl4 + plant extract treated animals. No apparent disruptions of the normal liver structure by histological and enzyme activities assessment were observed. The results show that the methanolic leaf extract is a potent analgesic and antihepatotoxic agent

Electricity Consumption, Carbon Emissions and Economic Growth in Nigeria

This paper applies a Multivariate Vector Error Correction (VECM) framework to examine the long run and causal relationship between electricity consumption, carbon emissions and economic growth in Nigeria. Using annual time series data for 1970 to 2008, findings show that in the long run, economic growth is associated with increase carbon emissions, while an increase in electricity consumption leads to an increase in carbon emissions. These imply that Nigeria’s growth process is pollution intensive, while the negative relationship between electricity consumption (or positive relationship between electricity consumption) and emissions in Nigeria is a clear indication that electricity consumption in the country has intensified carbon emissions. No support was obtained for the hypothesized environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). Granger-causality results confirm a unidirectional causality running from economic growth to carbon emissions, indicating that carbon emissions reduction policies could be pursued without reducing economic growth in Nigeria. No causality was found between electricity and growth, in either way, which further lends credence to the crisis in the Nigerian electricity sector. Overall, the paper submits that efficient planning and increased investment in electricity infrastructure development may be the crucial missing variable in the obtained neutrality hypothesis between electricity and growth.   Keywords: Electricity consumption; Economic growth; Carbon emission; Nigeria JEL Classifications:  Q43; Q4

The Contribution of Energy Consumption to Climate Change: A Feasible Policy Direction

Mitigating climate change is one of the biggest challenges that confront mankind in the present millennium. The problem has continued to dominate public debates in terms of its origin, sources, potential impacts and possibly adaptation strategies. In this paper, the contributions of energy to the climate change debate are explored. The analysis shows that since about 1850, the global use of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas) has increased and dominated world energy consumption and supply. The rapid rise in fossil fuel combustion has produced a corresponding rapid growth in CO2 emissions and accounts for over 80% of global anthropogenic green house gas emissions (GHGs) in 2008. It was shown that a substantial amount of CO2 emissions still emanates from the increased use of heavy polluting fuel like coal by industrializing countries like the United States, Japan and China. Historically, the developed countries have contributed the most to cumulative global CO2 emissions and still have the highest total historical emission. A disaggregated analysis indicates that two sectors of the economy, electricity and heat as well as the transport sector (majorly road transport), emit greater amounts of GHGs. Some mitigation mechanisms have been suggested including improved energy efficiency, energy pricing reforms, imposition of carbon emission taxes, promoting investment in renewable energy technologies and creating public environmental awareness. Keywords: Climate change; Fossil fuel; CO2 emissions JEL Classifications: Q40, Q20, Q3

RAZLIKE U PRODUKTIVNOSTI RADA IZMEĐU UZGAJIVAČA KASAVE MUŠKOGA I ŽENSKOGA SPOLA NA MALIM POSJEDIMA U IDEATO PODRUČJU IMO DRŽAVE, NIGERIJA

This study examined gender differentials in labour productivity among small-holder cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) farmers in Ideato Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria in 2008. The study data was collected through a multi-stage random sampling technique from 120 cassava farmers, consisting of 60 males and 60 females. For the male farmers, the coefficients for household size and credit were negatively related to labour productivity and significant at 10.0% level of probability. For the female farmers, the coefficient for farm size was negative, while access to credit was positive; both were significant at 1.0% level of probability. The coefficients for education and age were negative and significant at 5.0% level of probability for all the farmers. The results call for policies aimed at land reforms by making more lands and easy accessibility tocredit available to women younger and more agile for increased labour productivity.Istraživanje se bavi razlikama u produktivnosti rada među uzgajivačima kasave (Manihot esculenta Crantz) muškoga i ženskoga spola na malim posjedima u području Ideato države Imo, Nigerija, 2008. godine.Podaci za ovo istraživanje prikupljeni su u više faza, metodom slučajnog uzorka. Od 120 uzgajivača kasave, 60 sudionika je muškoga i 60 ženskoga spola. Za uzgajivače muškoga spola koeficijenti za veličinu gospodarstva i kredita bili su negativni u odnosu na produktivnost rada i signifikantni na razini vjerojatnosti 10,0%. Što se tiče žena uzgajivača, koeficijent je za veličinu posjeda bio negativan, dok je za dostupnost kreditu bio pozitivan. Oba su pokazatelja bila na razini vjerojatnosti 1,0%. Koeficijenti koji se odnose na obrazovanje i godine starosti bili su negativni i signifikantni na razini vjerojatnosti 5,0% za sve uzgajivače. Ti rezultati služe kao pokazatelji koji će potaknuti provođenje reformi, kako bi se omogućilo mlađim i sposobnim ženama uzgajivačima da lakše dođu do više zemlje i kredita te da se, na taj način, poveća produktivnost rada

The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of macrophyte communities in thirty small, temporary ponds over a period of ten years

Ponds are important habitats within many landscapes because of the diversity of wildlife they support. This arises in part because of the heterogeneity of ecological communities found in neighbouring ponds but this variation has proved difficult to explain. Chance and unrecorded historic events have often been emphasised as explanations. This study describes the development of spatial heterogeneity and the role of historic events in the development of pond plant macrophyte communities from the ponds' creation until ten later using thirty small, adjacent temporary ponds in Northumberland. Plant communities showed significant spatial variation from the first year onwards. Metacommunity spatial patterns changed over time but even after ten years several distinct macrophyte communities persisted in different ponds. The outcome was that a greater variety of pond communities persisted than was likely if a single, larger pond had been created on the site. The spatial patterns of the plants communities were compared to spatial variation of summer dry-phase and winter inundation. Macrophyte heterogeneity appeared to result from deterministic change which would have been difficult to detect in a snap-shot survey not knowing the history of the ponds. Winter inundation showed significant spatial trends every year which mirrored the changing distribution of macrophyte communities between ponds. The proximate influence of the inundation is ultimately determined by the position of each pond in the landscape so that the marked spatial and temporal heterogeneity of plant communities was strongly influenced by small scale variation in hydrology. The results suggest that the heterogeneity of pondlife across a landscape may be deterministic when recorded over a longer time period and not due to chance, but that the determining environmental factors are highly contingent on the locality of the pond

Quantifying soil hydrology to explain the development of vegetation at an ex-arable wetland restoration site

Wetland restoration frequently sets well-defined vegetation targets, but where restoration occurs on highly degraded land such targets are not practical and setting looser targets may be more appropriate. Where this more ‘open-ended’ approach to restoration is adopted, surveillance methods that can track developing wetland habitats need to be established. Water regime and soil structure are known to influence the distribution and composition of developing wetland vegetation, and may be quantified using Sum Exceedence Values (SEV), calculated using the position of the water table and knowledge of soil stress thresholds. Use of SEV to explain patterns in naturally colonizing vegetation on restored, ex-arable land was tested at Wicken Fen (UK). Analysis of values from ten locations showed that soil structure was highly heterogeneous. Five locations had shallow aeration stress thresholds and so had the potential to support diverse wetland assemblages. Deep aeration stress thresholds at other locations precluded the establishment of a diverse wetland flora, but identified areas where species-poor wetland assemblages may develop. SEV was found to be a useful tool for the surveillance of sites where restoration targets are not specified in detail at the outset and may help predict likely habitat outcomes at sites using an open-ended restoration approach