Human Capital, Higher Education Enrolment and Economic Growth in the SSA Countries (Panel Model Approach)

This study offers exploratory analysis on the relationship among human capital, higher education enrolment and economic growth in SSA countries. With data from twenty-two African countries across the four economic blocs, five variables which include human capital formation, capital stock, employment rate, total factor productivity and higher education enrolment were regressed against gross domestic product per capital. Panel analysis which includes fixed and random effects analyses were carried out. We report results from fixed effect (within) regression as Hausman test suggests. It was discovered that SADC countries perform better among the four economic blocs. To further study individual country specific effects, we employ least square dummy variables (LSDV). Sixteen countries out of twenty-two exhibit specific effects. Our findings revealed that enrolment rate of higher education in SSA have a very weak relationship with economic growth in the SSA countries. This reflects why there is a weak relationship between economic growth and the total factor productivity and consequently negative consequential effects on our total factor productivity. The main policy implication is that for SSA countries to maintain sustainable economic growth, home based human capital must be given a priority in the form of increased higher education budget and financing.&nbsp

Collective hormonal profiles predict group performance

Prior research has shown that an individual's hormonal profile can influence the individual's social standing within a group. We introduce a different construct-a collective hormonal profile-which describes a group's hormonal make-up. We test whether a group's collective hormonal profile is related to its performance. Analysis of 370 individuals randomly assigned to work in 74 groups of three to six individuals revealed that group-level concentrations of testosterone and cortisol interact to predict a group's standing across groups. Groups with a collective hormonal profile characterized by high testosterone and low cortisol exhibited the highest performance. These collective hormonal level results remained reliable when controlling for personality traits and group-level variability in hormones. These findings support the hypothesis that groups with a biological propensity toward status pursuit (high testosterone) coupled with reduced stress-axis activity (low cortisol) engage in profit-maximizing decision-making. The current work extends the dual-hormone hypothesis to the collective level and provides a neurobiological perspective on the factors that determine who rises to the top across, not just within, social hierarchies

Determinants of adoption and intensity of use of balanced nutrient management systems technologies in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria

As part of a major effort to address soil fertility decline in West Africa, a project on Balanced Nutrient Management Systems (BNMS) has since 2000 been implemented in the northern Guinea savanna (NGS) of Nigeria. The project has tested and promoted two major technology packages, including a combined application of inorganic fertilizer and manure (BNMS-manure) and a soybean/maize rotation practice referred to as BNMS-rotation. This study employed Tobit model to examine factors that influence the adoption and intensity of utilization of BNMS technologies in the NGS of Nigeria. Results showed that less than 10% of the sample households adopted at least one of the two components of the technology package by the end of 2002. However, by 2005 the adoption of BNMS-rotation had reached 40% while that of BNMS-manure had reached 48%. A number of factors such as access to credit, farmers’ perception of the state of land degradation, and assets ownership were found to be significant in determining farmers’ adoption decisions on BNMS-manure while off-farm income was found to be significant in determining farmers’ adoption decisions on BNMS-rotation. Extension services and farmer-to-farmer technology diffusion channels were the major means of transfer of BNMS technologies.Adoption, BNMS-manure, BNMS-rotation, Northern Guinea Savanna (NGS)., Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, International Relations/Trade, Livestock Production/Industries, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,

AI powered social commerce technology and customer experience: A systematic literature review

Over the last 3 decades, the digital revolution has drastically transformed customer/user experience. Negroponte (1995) described this transformation as a shift from atoms to bits. Schmitt (2019) supported that, in the context of marketing atoms are fast moving consumer goods and their brands, made in factories, advertised through mass media, and sold in stores; bits are information, entertainment and interactive products, often produced instantaneously, promoted through social media and sold online. Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered technologies such as social commerce, Internet of things (IoT), Augmented reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Smart technology, or digital payments technologies have the potential to revolutionize customer or user experience. Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping business, economy, and society by transforming consumers experiences and relationships amongst stakeholders and citizens (Loureiro, Guerreiro and Tussyadiah, 2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

ABH secretor status of students in the college of medical sciences, University of Maiduguri by inhibition method

Background: ABH blood group and secretor status of individuals are inherited independently although both may be associated with diabetes, autoimmune diseases and heart diseases. Aim: A cross-sectional study was employed to determine the ABH blood group and secretor status of students in the University of Maiduguri. Methodology: Two ml blood and 3ml saliva were collected from each study participants and were assayed independently. The ABO blood group and secretor status were determined by tube method and haemagglutination inhibition technique respectively. Results: A total of 235 apparently healthy students of the College of Medical Sciences participated in this study. Of the 235 participants, 97.4% are ABH secretors whereas 2.6% are ABH non-secretors. One hundred and nineteen 119(50.6%) of the subjects are males, of which 115 are secretors while 4 are non-secretors. Among the 116(49.4%) females who participated, 114 are secretors while 2 are non-secretors. The distribution of ABO blood group among the subjects shows that 21.3% were group A, 20.8% group B, 8.5% group AB and 49.4% group O. Conclusion: In this study, Blood group O is the commonest while AB was the least among the subjects. Overall, there are more secretors than non-secretors among the subjects. However, the study suggests that the ability to secrete ABH substances is independent of ABO blood group genes. The analysis also helps in revealing the prevalence of secretor status among the students. With the associations of disease and secretors, the secretor status of individuals may play a role in the diagnosis and management of diseases. Keywords: ABO blood group; secretor status; ABH antigen

An assessment of willingness to pay by maize and groundnut farmers for aflatoxin biocontrol product in northern Nigeria

Article purchased; Published online: 7 August, 2017In Nigeria, Aflasafe is a registered biological product for reducing aflatoxin infestation of crops from the field to storage, making the crops safer for consumption. The important questions are whether farmers will purchase and apply this product to reduce aflatoxin contamination of crops, and if so under what conditions. A study was carried out to address these questions and assess determinants of willingness to pay (WTP) for the product among maize and groundnut farmers in Kano and Kaduna states in Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect primary data from 492 farmers. The majority of farmers who had direct experience with Aflasafe (experienced farmers) in Kano (80.7%) and Kaduna (84.3%) had a WTP bid value equal to or greater than the threshold price ($10) at which Aflasafe was to be sold. The mean WTP estimates for Aflasafe for experienced farmers in Kano and Kaduna were statistically the same. However, values of$3.56 and $7.46 were offered in Kano and Kaduna states, respectively, by farmers who had never applied Aflasafe (inexperienced farmers), and the difference here was significant (P < 0.01). Regression results indicate that contact with extension agents (P < 0.01) and access to credit (P < 0.05) positively and significantly influenced the probability that a farmer would be willing to pay more for Aflasafe than the threshold price. Lack of awareness of the importance of Aflasafe was the major reason cited by inexperienced farmers (64% in Kano state and 21% in Kaduna state) for not using the product. A market strategy promoting a premium price for aflatoxin-safe produce and creating awareness and explaining the availability of Aflasafe to potential users should increase Aflasafe usage

The edge of the periphery: situating the ≠Khomani San of the Southern Kalahari in the political economy of Southern Africa

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in African Identities on 14/04/16, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/14725843.2016.1154813In this article, we situate the Southern Kalahari San within the political economy of Southern Africa and within the world system. Here we draw on and critique modernization theory as a model of explanation for the lack of development found locally. In the Southern Kalahari, the ≠Khomani San won a massive land claim that should have empowered and enabled local development. Yet they remain largely impoverished, while seeking out a meaningful life on the edge of the capitalist world system. Within states, contradictions remain as local diversity continues to be reproduced and modernity itself is reproduced as local diversity. The research is premised on empirical fieldwork conducted in the Southern Kalahari in 2013 and supported by a series of earlier field research over the previous five years. The San of the Southern Kalahari are not resisting modernity but drawing on aspects of it selectively for their own vision of meaningful development