KIOSK BANKING AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL DWELLERS IN KWANDE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

The general objective of the study was to ascertain the contributions of kiosk banking to socio-economic development of rural dwellers in Kwande Local Government Area. Specifically, the study sought to establish services offered by kiosk banking to rural dwellers in the study area and to also determine the effect such services have on socio-economic development of the rural dwellers. The study used a cross sectional survey design while 321 samples were obtained through convenient sampling technique. Questionnaires were used for data collection while percentages, chi-square and Cramer’s V were adopted for data analysis. The study found that most (61.1%) rural dwellers had access to kiosk banking services. These services include: cash withdrawals (67.8%) cash deposits (15.8) Point of Sale (POS) channel (87.8%). Furthermore, kiosk banking was found to have significant relationship to living standard of the rural dwellers as X2 = 30.708>p=0.002. However, it was found that the relationship was weak with Cramer’s V value of 0.229. Findings also showed low ratings regarding kiosk banking services in regards to the cost of transport (44.9%), service charge (59.2%) and information cost (85.7%). The study concluded that kiosk banking had a significant effect on socio-economic development of rural dwellers. The major challenges of kiosk banking were found to be high withdrawal charges (25.2%) and insufficient funds for huge withdrawals (21.8%). The study recommended for monitoring of charges and improvement in availability of funds to kiosk bankers so as to boost socio-economic activities in rural settlements. It was also recommended that banks should scale up kiosk banking services to encourage more participation and more financial inclusion

KIOSK BANKING AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL DWELLERS IN KWANDE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

The general objective of the study was to ascertain the contributions of kiosk banking to socio-economic development of rural dwellers in Kwande Local Government Area. Specifically, the study sought to establish services offered by kiosk banking to rural dwellers in the study area and to also determine the effect such services have on socio-economic development of the rural dwellers. The study used a cross sectional survey design while 321 samples were obtained through convenient sampling technique. Questionnaires were used for data collection while percentages, chi-square and Cramer’s V were adopted for data analysis. The study found that most (61.1%) rural dwellers had access to kiosk banking services. These services include: cash withdrawals (67.8%) cash deposits (15.8) Point of Sale (POS) channel (87.8%). Furthermore, kiosk banking was found to have significant relationship to living standard of the rural dwellers as X2 = 30.708>p=0.002. However, it was found that the relationship was weak with Cramer’s V value of 0.229. Findings also showed low ratings regarding kiosk banking services in regards to the cost of transport (44.9%), service charge (59.2%) and information cost (85.7%). The study concluded that kiosk banking had a significant effect on socio-economic development of rural dwellers. The major challenges of kiosk banking were found to be high withdrawal charges (25.2%) and insufficient funds for huge withdrawals (21.8%). The study recommended for monitoring of charges and improvement in availability of funds to kiosk bankers so as to boost socio-economic activities in rural settlements. It was also recommended that banks should scale up kiosk banking services to encourage more participation and more financial inclusion

Elliptic flow of charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV

We report the first measurement of charged particle elliptic flow in Pb-Pb collisions at 2.76 TeV with the ALICE detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The measurement is performed in the central pseudorapidity region (|$\eta$|<0.8) and transverse momentum range 0.2< $p_{\rm T}$< 5.0 GeV/$c$. The elliptic flow signal v$_2$, measured using the 4-particle correlation method, averaged over transverse momentum and pseudorapidity is 0.087 $\pm$ 0.002 (stat) $\pm$ 0.004 (syst) in the 40-50% centrality class. The differential elliptic flow v$_2(p_{\rm T})$ reaches a maximum of 0.2 near $p_{\rm T}$ = 3 GeV/$c$. Compared to RHIC Au-Au collisions at 200 GeV, the elliptic flow increases by about 30%. Some hydrodynamic model predictions which include viscous corrections are in agreement with the observed increase.Comment: 10 pages, 4 captioned figures, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/389

Strange particle production in proton-proton collisions at s=0.9\sqrt{s}=0.9 TeV with ALICE at the LHC

The production of mesons containing strange quarks (K$^0_s$, $\phi$) and both singly and doubly strange baryons ($\Lambda$, Anti-$\Lambda$, and $\Xi$+Anti-$\Xi$) are measured at central rapidity in pp collisions at $\sqrt{s}$ = 0.9 TeV with the ALICE experiment at the LHC. The results are obtained from the analysis of about 250 k minimum bias events recorded in 2009. Measurements of yields (dN/dy) and transverse momentum spectra at central rapidities for inelastic pp collisions are presented. For mesons, we report yields () of 0.184 $\pm$ 0.002 stat. $\pm$ 0.006 syst. for K$^0_s$ and 0.021 $\pm$ 0.004 stat. $\pm$ 0.003 syst. for $\phi$. For baryons, we find = 0.048 $\pm$ 0.001 stat. $\pm$ 0.004 syst. for $\Lambda$, 0.047 $\pm$ 0.002 stat. $\pm$ 0.005 syst. for Anti-$\Lambda$ and 0.0101 $\pm$ 0.0020 stat. $\pm$ 0.0009 syst. for $\Xi$+Anti-$\Xi$. The results are also compared with predictions for identified particle spectra from QCD-inspired models and provide a baseline for comparisons with both future pp measurements at higher energies and heavy-ion collisions.Comment: 33 pages, 21 captioned figures, 10 tables, authors from page 28, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/387

Suppression of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in central Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76 TeV

Inclusive transverse momentum spectra of primary charged particles in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{_{\rm NN}}}$ = 2.76 TeV have been measured by the ALICE Collaboration at the LHC. The data are presented for central and peripheral collisions, corresponding to 0-5% and 70-80% of the hadronic Pb-Pb cross section. The measured charged particle spectra in $|\eta|<0.8$ and $0.3 < p_T < 20$ GeV/$c$ are compared to the expectation in pp collisions at the same $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$, scaled by the number of underlying nucleon-nucleon collisions. The comparison is expressed in terms of the nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm AA}$. The result indicates only weak medium effects ($R_{\rm AA} \approx$ 0.7) in peripheral collisions. In central collisions, $R_{\rm AA}$ reaches a minimum of about 0.14 at $p_{\rm T}=6$-7GeV/$c$ and increases significantly at larger $p_{\rm T}$. The measured suppression of high-$p_{\rm T}$ particles is stronger than that observed at lower collision energies, indicating that a very dense medium is formed in central Pb-Pb collisions at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages, 5 captioned figures, 3 tables, authors from page 10, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/98

Two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in central Pb-Pb collisions at sNN\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76 TeV

The first measurement of two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations in central Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV at the Large Hadron Collider is presented. We observe a growing trend with energy now not only for the longitudinal and the outward but also for the sideward pion source radius. The pion homogeneity volume and the decoupling time are significantly larger than those measured at RHIC.Comment: 17 pages, 5 captioned figures, 1 table, authors from page 12, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/388

Production of pions, kaons and protons in pp collisions at s=900\sqrt{s}=900 GeV with ALICE at the LHC

The production of $\pi^+$, $\pi^-$, $K^+$, $K^-$, p, and pbar at mid-rapidity has been measured in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 900$ GeV with the ALICE detector. Particle identification is performed using the specific energy loss in the inner tracking silicon detector and the time projection chamber. In addition, time-of-flight information is used to identify hadrons at higher momenta. Finally, the distinctive kink topology of the weak decay of charged kaons is used for an alternative measurement of the kaon transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) spectra. Since these various particle identification tools give the best separation capabilities over different momentum ranges, the results are combined to extract spectra from $p_{\rm T}$ = 100 MeV/$c$ to 2.5 GeV/$c$. The measured spectra are further compared with QCD-inspired models which yield a poor description. The total yields and the mean $p_{\rm T}$ are compared with previous measurements, and the trends as a function of collision energy are discussed.Comment: 24 pages, 18 captioned figures, 5 tables, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/388