Corporate dividend policy in practice: the views of Nigerian financial managers

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to provide an additional insight into the dividend puzzle by investigating the field practice of dividend policy in an emerging market such as Nigeria. It also aims to contribute to the literature on industry-related dividend effect by examining whether managerial views on dividend policy differ between financial and non-financial firms. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs semi-structured interviews with the financial managers of 21 Nigerian listed firms. The interviewees were divided into two broad groups of financial versus non-financial firms based on the industry classification of the firms. Findings – The findings suggest that, despite differences in institutional environment, the dividend setting process in Nigerian companies is similar in many extents to those in the US and other developed markets. Nigerian companies exhibit dividend conservatism and typically focus on current earnings, stability of earnings and availability of cash when determining their current dividend levels. However, unlike in prior studies, the interviewees suggest that their companies do not have a target payout ratio; instead, they target the dividend per share when determining the disbursement level. Nevertheless, views regarding these issues vary significantly between financial and non-financial firms. Originality/value – This paper adds to the extant literature that has examined the behavioural aspects of dividend policy using interviews, especially in the context of less-developed markets such as Nigeria. The study also updates and extends prior evidence on an industry-related effect on managerial views on dividend policy

Where is management going? Employer strategies with regard to worker participation and work-place forums

No Abstrac

Evaluation of steady flow torques and pressure losses in a rotary flow control valve by means of computational fluid dynamics.

In this paper, a novel design of a rotary hydraulic flow control valve has been presented for high flow rate fluid power systems. High flow rates in these systems account for substantial flow forces acting on the throttling elements of the valves and cause the application of mechanically sophisticated multi-staged servo valves for flow regulation. The suggested design enables utilisation of single-stage valves in power hydraulics operating at high flow rates regimes. A spool driver and auxiliary mechanisms of the proposed valve design were discussed and selection criteria were suggested. Analytical expressions for metering characteristics as well as steady flow torques have been derived. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of steady state flow regimes was conducted to evaluate the hydraulic behaviour of the proposed valve. This study represents a special case of an independent metering concept applied to the design of power hydraulic systems with direct proportional valve control operating at flow rates above 150 litres per minute. The result gained using parametric CFD simulations predicted the induced torque and the pressure drops due to a steady flow. Magnitudes of these values prove that by minimising the number of spool’s mobile metering surfaces it is possible to reduce the flow-generated forces in the new generation of hydraulic valves proposed in this study. Calculation of the flow jet angles was analytically verified by measuring the deflection of the velocity vector using flow velocity field distribution, obtained during visualisation of the results of CFD simulations. The derived calculation formulas can predict metering characteristics, values of steady flow torques and jet angles for the specified design and geometry of the suggested valve. The proposed novel structure of the flow control valve promises to attain improved controllability, reliability and efficiency of the hydraulic control units of heavy mobile machinery operating at high flow rates regimes

Beach Vegetation and Oceanic Processes Study of Popham State Park Beach, Reid State Park Beach, and Small Pt. Beach

Beach Vegetation and Oceanic Processes Study of Popham State Park Beach, Reid State Park Beach, and Small Pt. Beach by Philip Trudeau, Paul J. Godfrey and Barry S. Timson Prepared Under Cooperative Agreement Between the Maine Department of Conservation and the Soil Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture, September 1977. On Cover: Time and Tide Resource Conservation and Development Project. Contents: List of Figures / List of Tables / Introduction / Plant Community Research / Oceanic Processes / Historic Analysis of Barrier Beach Movement and Erosion / Dune Dynamics / Suggestions for Long Term Management / Appendices A - E / Literature Citedhttps://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/me_collection/1088/thumbnail.jp

Computer assisted language learning for academic development programmes : an appraisal of needs, resources and approaches

A major objective of Academic Development Programmes is to support the student in acquiring a level of language competence which is sufficient to enable the student to cope with the linguistic demands of academic courses. Language teaching programmes in the Academic Development context in South Africa suffer from a number of constraints: staffing, time on task, relevance, and difficulty of integration with learning in other coUrses. A review of developments in the field of Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) shows that computers can be used to support language learning. CALL materials range from simple instructional programs to powerful linguistic research tools and need to be integrated into wider language programmes so as to support and enhance other teaching and learning activities. However, relatively little research has been done to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of CALL in language development courses within Academic Development programmes in South Africa. The development of a system designed to enable students to practise proof-reading and editing is described and evaluated. Suggestions are made for using this system with other CALL materials within a computer assisted language development environment. It is argued that CALL can be used feasibly and effectively in this environment to enhance learning and to counteract constraints

Recontinentalizing Canada : Arctic ice’s liquid modernity and the imagining of a Canadian archipelago

Studying mobile actor networks of moving people, objects, images, and discourses, in conjunction with changing time-spaces, offers a unique opportunity to understand important, and yet relatively neglected, “relational material” dynamics of mobility. A key example of this phenomenon is the recontinentalization of Canada amidst dramatically changing articulations of the meanings and boundaries of the Canadian landice- ocean mass. A notable reason why Canada is being re-articulated in current times is the extensiveness of Arctic thawing. The reconfiguration of space and “motility” options in the Arctic constitutes an example of how “materiality and sociality produce themselves together.” In this paper we examine the possibilities and risks connected to this recontinentalization of Canada’s North. In exploring the past, present, and immediate future of this setting, we advance the paradigmatic view that Canada’s changing Arctic is the key element in a process of transformation of Canada into a peninsular body encompassed within a larger archipelagic entity: a place more intimately attuned to its immense (and growing) coastal and insular routes.peer-reviewe

National Investment Policy for Aquaculture Parks in Uganda

According to the National Development Plan (NDP), fish farming in Uganda presents immense opportunities for socio-economic development, in terms of livelihood, income, and employment. The need  for the National Investment Policy for Aquaculture Parks in Uganda arose out of public demand for guidance on the investment in commercial scale aquaculture. Stakeholders in aquaculture demanded public guidance and support for implementation of the Aquaculture Parks Concept that is prioritized in Development Strategy and Investment Plan (DSIP) within the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and  Fisheries (MAAIF)

DNA methylation at birth within the promoter of ANRIL predicts markers of cardiovascular risk at 9 years

Aims: Antisense non-coding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) fixed genetic variants have consistently been linked with coronary heart disease (CHD) risk. We investigated relationships between perinatal ANRIL promoter DNA methylation and CHD risk markers in children aged 9 years. Genetic variants in the non-coding RNA ANRIL identify it as an important CHD risk locus. Increasing evidence suggests that the early life environment may act through epigenetic processes to influence later CHD risk markers such as increased arterial pulse wave velocity (PWV, a measure of arterial stiffness) blood pressure or heart rate.Methods and results: Using pyrosequencing, ANRIL DNA methylation at nine CpG sites was measured in the umbilical cord from 144 children in a UK mother-offspring cohort and related to the descending aorta PWV measured by velocity-encoded phase contrast MRI at age 9 years. Perinatal methylation was not associated with child’s later blood pressure, but higher methylation at CpG5 was associated with increased childhood PWV (??=?0.066 m/s/10 % methylation increase [95 % CI, 0.004 to 0.128], p?=?0.037); 10 % decreases in methylation at CpG1 and CpG2 were associated with increased heart rate (CpG1 ??=?1.93 [0.07 to 3.8] beats/min, p?=?0.041; CpG2 ??=?2.30 [0.18 to 4.41] beats/min, p?=?0.033, accounting for potential confounding variables). The associations with perinatal ANRIL promoter methylation were independent of neighbouring fixed genetic variants.Conclusions: Our findings suggest developmental epigenetic regulation of ANRIL promoter methylation as a factor in later CHD risk in children.<br/