Effect of using vegetable oils as quenching media for pure commercial aluminium

This paper presents the effects of rate of heat extraction by groundnut, melon, palm kernel, shea butter and palm oils on the mechanical properties of various samples of pure commercial aluminium heat treated at 200°C, 250°C, 300°C and 350°C. Muffle furnace equipped with digital thermometer and thermocouple was used for the heat treatment. Tensile strength and hardness tests were carried out using Instron Universal Tester and Vickers hardness methods, respectively. Results obtained from the experiment were presented graphically. The results showed that palm kernel oil cools faster at 200°C and 250°C, while palm oil and shea butter oil quench faster at 300°C and 350°C, respectively. Palm kernel oil offers the highest elongation at 200°C, while at 350°C shea butter oil gave the best result. The best among the bio-quenching oils in providing good ductility is shea butter oil at 200°C, while at 300°C and 350°C groundnut oil give the best result. Highest hardness values were obtained from samples quenched in melon oil between 200°C-300°C. However, these values decreased with increased heating temperature probably due to density and viscosity variation with temperature rise. Similar observations were made on most of other samples quenched in other bio-quenching oils used in this experiment. This study shows that these locally available vegetable oils have promising potentials to serve as a possible replacement for non-biodegradable mineral oils in many applications

Effect of Organisational Change on Employee Performance in the Nigerian Deposit Money Banks

The position of banking sector in any nation’s economy cannot be overemphasized this is because it drives other sectors. Managing employee performance in the face of dynamic changing organizational environment remains critical issue in today’s banking sector where the strength of the sector lies in the contribution and commitment of employees. Previous studies on organizational change as it affect employees’ performance remained inconclusive. Therefore, this study examined the effect of organizational change on employees’ performance in Deposit Money Banks in Lagos State, Nigeria.The study employed a survey research design and a multi-stage sampling technique to select a sample of 623 employees from a total population of 24182 employees in 22 Deposit Money Banks in Lagos, Nigeria. Consequently a structured questionnaire was administered on the respondents while 520 were duly completed and returned representing 83.5% response rate. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyzed collected data. Ordered Logistic Regression was used to determine the effects of Organisational change on employee’s performance in Deposit Money Banks in the studied area at 95% confidence level.The study showed average and standard deviation values for organizational change (-0.0034, 1.880 and employee’s job performance (2.498, 1.317), indicating the rate at which these variables deviated from their individual mean values. The results further revealed that organizational change (β= –0.628,zc= –9.33, p=0.067  had negative effect on employee performance.The study concluded that organizational change significantly affects employee’s performance in Deposit Money Banks in Lagos State, Nigeria. It was recommended that the stakeholders in the Nigerian banking industry should communicate changes in advance and also involve employees in the execution of those changes. Organisations should ensure that employees are treated in a just and procedurally manner so as to guarantee employee that the psychological contract between employer and employee remains intact Keywords: Organisational, Change, Banks, Employee, Performance, Deposit, Money DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/11-20-08 Publication date:October 31st 202

Antifungal Activities of Ethanol and Aqueous Crude Extracts of Four Nigerian Chewing Sticks

The antifungal activities of the ethanol and aqueous crude extracts of four Nigerian chewing sticks were investigated. Also a preliminary phytochemical analysis of the plants was done. The chewing sticks include Anogeissus schimperi, Distemonanthus benthmianus, Vernonia amagdalina and Xanthoxylum zanthoxyloides. All the plants tested, except Anogeissus Schimperi, displayed antifungal activities, zone of inhibition above the 10 mm standard mark. The ethanol crude extracts of the chewing sticks had a greater zone of inhibition in comparison with the aqueous extract. Among the individual plant extracts, D. benthmianus had the highest antifungal activity against Candida albicans, Aspergillus flavus and Microsporium gypseum and Trichophyton metagrophytes. The chewing sticks contain antifungal agents, though the concentration and composition of the bioactive substances may differ amongst the plants. Distemonath benthmianus exhibited a better antifungal activity and thus made it more suitable for better dental care. Flavonoid was present in all the plant extracts. Tannin was present in all the plant extract, except that of Anogeissus schimperi. Alkaloids were absent in all the plant extract. The ethanolic extracts had more phytochemical compounds than the aqueous extracts

Anticipated Change in the Nigerian Capital Market and Its Implication on Economic Growth

This paper examines the Anticipated Change in the Nigerian Capital Market and its implications on Economic Growth. Data were collected through secondary source and analyzed using multiple regression and descriptive method of statistical analysis. The study reveals that market capitalization, value of stocks and interest rate has significant impact on the GDP. The paper recommends that government should step up investor’s confidence and activities in the capital markets so that it could contribute significantly to economic growth hence, national development. Keywords: Market Capitalization, Economic Growth, Capital Market, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Structural Adjustment Programme, Gross Domestic Produc

Legal challenges of imposing a governmental duty of care for adaptive responses to climate change in the Global South: a case study of Nigeria

Our research study focuses on exploring the challenges of adopting Governmental Duty of Care as a legal framework for adaptive responses to Climate Change with special focus on the Global South using Nigeria as a case study. Although a global issue, minimising the impact of Climate Change requires domestic or national adaptive measures which requires a different approach from mitigation, hence a National Project Development and Implementation Framework in conjunction with International Environmental Agreements is desired. In comparison to the Global North, it seems that the Global South is lacking the political will to carry out their international environmental obligations. As citizens are no longer content with government inertia, holding these government accountable through the imposition a duty of care through litigation or as a consequence of ratifying international environmental agreements is a legal framework this research proposes. However, this approach is fraught with legal complexities, some of which this paper will highlight

Comparative Analysis of Pre and Post-migration Livelihood Outcomes of Households with Absentee Heads in Osun State, Nigeria

Migration is often linked with a deleterious impact on rural area production and development. Although, the change of location for better opportunities also affect the lives and livelihoods of the migrant households’ in the rural communities. The study was a comparative analysis of the pre and post-migration living outcomes of absentee households’ heads in Osun State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling procedure involving the simple random sampling was used to select 120 absentee household heads. Data collected with interview schedule was subjected to descriptive statistics, t-test and correlation analyses. Findings showed that more men (76.7%) migrated, leaving women to become the interim household heads. It was found that migrants have a higher average monthly income level (₦44,400). Prior to migration, most families were in the lower financial well-being category (83.3%), while only 55% remained in that category after migration. This follows the result of the t-test which revealed that a significant difference (t=0.00; p<0.05) exists between the well-being of migrant’s household before and after migration. Thus, it was concluded that unless the rural push factors are removed, rural-urban migration will continue at an increasing rate because benefits and opportunities acquired in the process influence the well-being of the rural households. The study recommends that enabling environment, facilities and opportunities should be created in the rural communities to transform livelihoods and improve the wellbeing of the people via interventions by national and international agencies

Promoting production and marketing of root crops in Southern Africa in a changing climate using integrated Agricultural Research for Development (IAR4d) pathway

Climate change is expected to have adverse impacts on smallholder farmers whose livelihoods depend on rain-fed agriculture. In fact, climate change is expected to continue to pose a serious threat to agriculture in southern Africa as annual rainfall amounts are expected to decline and temperatures are expected to increase. Studies show that the impacts will depend on the extent of smallholder farmers’ adaptation in response to climate change and variability. However, despite numerous extension efforts and repeated past maize crop failures, smallholder farmers in southern Africa continue to show preference to maize over other drought resistant crops. The low rate of adoption of drought resistant crops in response to the changing climate has been blamed on the linear non-participatory manner in which agricultural research and development efforts are organised. The present study seeks to establish whether reorganising research and development in an integrated manner known as Integrated Agricultural Research for Development – (IAR4D) would contribute towards the adoption of drought resistant crops and also improve household incomes. The study used cross-sectional household survey data collected from Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi to determine the local average treatment effect of adopting drought resistant crops (in this case root and tuber crops) on household income. A multistage sampling technique was used to sample 600 households from the three countries. The data was collected as part of an end-line survey in the proof of IAR4D concept from conventional, treatment and control sites in each of the three countries. Results from the analysis show that smallholders in IAR4D villages which produced and sold root and tuber crops had higher household incomes than farmers who did not produce and sell these crops. The results also show that smallholder farmers who participated in IAR4D activities adopted roots and tuber crops to militate against the effects of climate change and variability. The study concluded that IAR4D could effectively deal with institutional and technical issues that constrain smallholders from adapting to climate change and variability. Furthermore, climate change adaptation strategies could be easily promoted using an integrated agricultural research for development approach.Key words: Climate, adaptation, marketing, agriculture, innovations Roots and tubers, Southern Africa, IAR4

Investigation of Some Factors Influencing Corrosion on Refrigerator

The corrosion of steel reinforcing bar can proceed out of sight and eventually result in failure of a section of the highway. The collapse of electrical towers, damage to building, leakages in refrigerator all these result in significant repair cost, endangering public safety and health. This paper presents investigation of some factors influencing corrosion on refrigerator, such as presence of dissolved mineral, organic impurities and dissolved gasses in the water. The survey results are presented using graphs. T-test and Anova were used to ascertain the significance of the factors. The result of alternative Hypothesis and null Hypothesis on the T-test and Anova test were carried out on the factors causing corrosion and responsible for the corrosion were able to be identified. The results revealed that the corrosive effect of fresh water varies from locality to locality due to the wide variety of dissolved impurities, the organism causing the greatest corrosion problems are bacteria and fungi, time of exposure to a corrosive environment influences metal corrosion, most salt solution is good electrolyte and can promote corrosive attack and corrosion effects reduce the life span of refrigerator. The result of this research would guide environmental and material engineers in better planning to minimize corrosion

Realities Versus Rhetorics: Focus Shift in Investment Decisions on the Capital Market

This study focuses on investigating whether historical accounting data (fundamental analysis) can be totally responsible for stock performance and companies return on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. It portrays the extent to which shareholders of listed firms are influenced by various criteria in their investment decisions including reliance on the companies’ annual financial reports provided by the accounting system. The paper tries to show the impact of Behavioural finance in Nigeria Stock Market. This paper use indicators from different areas of financial Statements and Market Capitalisation such as; profitability, EPS, Book and Market value of equity, and Share prices. Also primary data from investors and stake-holders in the market was collected. Data were selected for five year period from 2013 to 2017. The sample of the study consists of five different sectors of companies listed on Nigerian Stock Exchange having five years consecutive data available. For data analysis the study used Pearson correlation technique. The study noted investors’ limited knowledge and understanding of published accounts, which consequently placed limitation on its usefulness to inform their investment decisions. The study therefore concluded that fundamental analysis alone cannot predict stock returns nor determine investors’ decision of the Nigerian listed companies. It was discovered that though relegated to the background, behavioural biases has profound significant relation with Nigerian stock market performance and listed companies on the stock exchange, hence influence investors’ decision. Keywords: Habit, Financial-analysis, Stakeholders, Investment-decisions, Listed-companies. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/10-18-07 Publication date:September 30th 201

The Conscious Being & the Problem of Consciousness: Implications for Theory and Practice for 21st Century Researchers

Sense perception is certainly a sensible way in which we relate to the world, but thought tends to occur unconsciously. While some thinkers argue for the certainty of some mental states, others think that these mental states cannot provide sure foundations for certain interpretations of mental states which belong to other individuals. Consequently, it has been argued that due to the nature of the problem of consciousness, results obtained from empirical tests tend to lack the capacity to provide intrinsic road maps for future studies and understanding of consciousness. While adopting the traditional reconstructive methods of critical analysis in philosophy, the study analysed various attempts '·. l('j made towards developing test measures and theories aimed at providing operational definitions and a direction towards the understanding of the study of consciousness. Most tests and theories studied were identified as capable of providing ample evidence for the proof of consciousness in certain living and non-living organisms. Some flaws in these tests however, made laudable efforts in the study of consciousness amount to near nothing, thereby condemning thinkers to endless debates. The study recommends that thinkers of the 21'' century resolve to adopting synthetic and pluralistic approaches in the formulation of theories as the road to future progress in the study of consciousness