1,101 research outputs found
Mobile Phone Banking In Nigeria: Benefits, Problems and Prospects
The internet and other electronic media have had a positive impact on the lives of individuals and businesses all over the world. This study investigated the extent of the adoption and usage of the mobile phone banking services among banking customers in Nigeria and the associated problems. Mobile phones are now ubiquitous and a standard aspect of daily life for a large percentage of the world population. In addition, innovations in mobile finances offer the potential to change the way customers conduct financial transactions. Yet many banking customers all over the world remain sceptical about the benefits of mobile financial services and the levels of security provided with these services. Thus the aim of this study was to understand the levels of usage and non-usage of these financial services by customers within Nigeria. In the course of the research, ten out of twenty one banks were selected in Nigeria. The stakeholders interviewed included bank staff, customers and students from higher education institutions. Study data was gathered over a two month period using an unstructured set of interview questions and data analysis was through thematic evidences arising from the data analysed. Internet banking services were first introduced into the Nigerian financial system in 2001 and other electronic banking services such as the ATM and phone banking followed thereafter. The findings of this study however, discovered that phone banking was more established than internet banking and ATM services, but ATM services had a wider reach. In summary, the overriding factors affecting this situation included the cost and maintenance involved, education of customers, poverty and infrastructure availability. Recommendations are therefore awareness creation of the services and associated business environment, security improvement of the services and tough government regulations for general electronic banking services in the Nigerian contex
Downsizing as a Strategic Tool for Effective Organizational Management: A Case Study of Nigerian Banks
Downsizing, in recent years, have assumed a commonplace in various organisations. The views of various practitioners and in fact results of various studies indicates that these initiatives, albeit, intended to produce positive results, often do more harm than good to some organisations, workforce and their performance. The unending quest for lower costs, higher productivity and fatter profits have often led to the wielding of the ‘’big stick’’. Organisations of varying sizes and shapes have used downsizing as a cost cutting management strategy, however, the untold stories are the actual cost of these exercise to the organisation, performance and it’s far reaching implications to the workforce. This paper explored the costs and implications of the massive wave of redundancies in the workforce in Nigerian banks. With the help of data obtained from open-ended interviews conducted with various stakeholders in downsizing operations and applied within a clinical framework, individual reaction patterns are explored in the victims, the survivors and the executioners. Among the victims and survivors within the Nigerian setting, a number of ways of coping can be discerned, and described as compulsive, abrasive, dissociate and depressive. Findings revealed a plethora of mixed feelings among various employees and expose the far reaching implications both to the organisations, affected individuals (victims) and the psyche of their co-workers (survivors). The article ends with a number of practical recommendation
Changes in Nitrate-Nitrogen Concentration in Sugar Beet Petioles as Influenced by Irrigation and Fertilizer Practices
Sugar beets must be properly irrigated and fertilized to maximize sugar
production. Both yield and sugar content can be materially altered by water
or fertilizer deficiency or excesses (4, 5). Farm operators must carefully
manage fertilization and irrigation to obtain the greatest net return from
sugar beets
Predicting the Nitrogen Needs of Sugar Beets by Petiole Analysis
Sugar beets are grown extensively
in areas where fertilization and irrigation
can be regulated to maximize
sugar production and net returns per
unit area. The yield and sugar content
of sugar beets can be materially
affected by either deficiencies or excesses
of water and fertilizer. Nitrogen,
in particular, has a great effect
on yield and sugar content of beets.
Inadequate nitrogen limits root yield.
On the other hand, excess residual or
applied nitrogen stimulates top growth
and reduces root sugar percentage
Determining Nitrogen Fertilizer Needs for Sugarbeets from Residual Soil Nitrate and Mineralizable Nitrogen
Soil nitrate and mineralizable nitrogen are used to
predict the root yield potential and N fertilizer needs of
sugarbeets. Predicting the required N fertilizer for optimum
refined sucrose production based on soil test procedures
is needed because inadequate N limits root yield
and high levels of N may reduce both extractable sucrose
and sucrose yield.
Sugarbeets (Beta vulgaris L.) were grown at 14 residual
and fertilizer N rates to determine the root yield, sucrose
percentage, sucrose yield, and N uptake in relation to
the residual, mineralizable, and fertilizer N. A soil test
to measure both the mineralizable and NO?-N level of a
soil was found to serve as a valuable guide in recommending
N fertilizer for sugarbeets. The amount of N
supplied from mineralizable sources in a uniformly
cropped and fertilized field is expected to remain reasonably
constant if adequate but not excess N fertilizer
is supplied each year to the crop grown. Therefore, repeating
the test for mineralizable N each year may not be
necessary. Determining the amount of NO?-N in the root
zone, which is now feasible with rapid and accurate
methods of soil analysis, combined with the predetermined
mineralizable N, would increase the accuracy of N fertilizer
recommendations
Irrigation of Crops: Drainage Water Quality
Recent research has provided new knowledge on
managing irrigation water to decrease the degrading
effects of irrigation on the mineral quality of
drainage water and to increase crop yield and quality
by effective use of sprinkler irrigation.
In sprinkler irrigation, water is exposed to the
atmosphere, which enhances evaporation. The
evaporation process cools the droplets, increases
the heat absorbed by the droplets from the air
through which they pass, and adds water vapor to
the atmosphere. It has also been determined that
the plant as well as its environment can he cooled
with water applied by sprinklers
Effect of Mid-to Late-Season Water Stress on Sugarbeet Growth and Yield
Costs of irrigation (labor, water, and energy) and sometimes
limited-late-season water are factors associated with
the choice of crop and economic returns. Sugarbeets
(Beta vulgaris L.) have shown certain tolerance to water
stress, therefore the objective of this study was to evaluate
growth rates and characteristics, sucrose accumulation,
and N uptake by sugarbeets grown under mid to
late-season soil water deficit and plant water stress.
Sugarbeets were grown in a field experiment on a
Portneuf silt loam soil (Durixerollic Calciorthids; coarse-silty,
mixed, mesic) under normal irrigation until 15
July, after which further irrigation was terminated or
reduced on two treatments during a 2-year period. Root
yield, sucrose concentration, sucrose yield, plant N uptake,
and petiole NO?-N were determined from samples
taken throughout each season. These experiments demonstrated
that very little, if any, sucrose yield reduction
can be expected in the Idaho area if irrigations are discontinued
after filling the soil profile with water about
1 August and if the soil contains at least 200 mm of
available water to a soil depth of 160 cm. During dry
years, there may be an advantage to applying a light
irrigation about 1 month after water cutoff and to have
sufficient surface soil water present at harvest to prevent
loss of roots by breaking. Use of deficit water management
during August, September, and October curtailed
leaf growth, reduced leaf area when no longer needed,
reduced N uptake from the soil, increased sucrose concentration
in the beet root, and decreased fresh root
yield. These effects on yields were mainly caused by dehydration
of the beet tops and roots so sucrose production
was scarcely affected even though only 74% of the normal
irrigation water was applied. Limited irrigations reduced
evapotranspiration rates because of drier surface soil and
partial stomatal closure, thereby decreasing the rate of
water extraction from the soil reservoir by the plant. Use
of mid to late-season deficit water management could
substantially reduce sugarbeet production costs in irrigated
areas and economically benefit the consumer, producer,
and manufacturer
Interpreting the Rate of Change in Nitrate-Nitrogen in Sugarbeet Petioles
Nitrate-nitrogen in sugarbeet petioles is used to evaluate
current N status of sugarbeet crops. Since the NO?-N
changes rapidly during the season, better relationships
are needed to interpret these data relative to sugarbeet N
nutrition.
Sugarbeets (Beta vulgaris, L.) were grown at four N
fertilization rates and two irrigation levels to determine
the root yield, sucrose percentage, sucrose yield, and N
uptake in relation to the NO?-N concentration in the
petioles. NO?-N in beet petioles increased to a peak concentration
and then decreased exponentially during the
two growing seasons on all treatments. The exponential
decrease after the peak enables prediction of the NO?-N
in the petioles during the remainder of the growing season.
This rate of change approach can be used to predict
N needs when adding supplemental N for sugarbeets
and to characterize the N status of soil-crop systems
Effect of Row Spacing and Nitrogen Rate on Root and Sucrose Yield of Sugarbeets in Southern Idaho
Research results at other locations in western U.S. indicate that a
plant spacing of approximately 12 inches within rows and 20 or 22
inches between rows is necessary to obtain near maximum yields of
sugarbeets (Beta vulgaris L.) and yet maintain adequate space for
machinery operation (4, 6, 10). Increasing row and plant spacings
with corresponding decreases in plant population have reduced root
and sucrose yields (1, 9, 11). Decreasing row and plant spacings with
consequent increases in plant populations may augment yields (5). The
optimum row spacing and plant population for maximum sucrose
production by varieties currently used by the Amalgamated Sugar
Company under a high fertility level, controlled irrigations, and the
climatic conditions of southern Idaho are unknown.
In southern Idaho, most sugarbeets are grown in 22- or 24-inch
rows with plants thinned to 9- to 12-inch spacings within the row. With
these plant spacings, the factory average beet root yield from 1966 to
1969 was 20.9 tons in southwestern, 18.3 in south central and 17.8 tons
in southeastern Idaho. Experimental plots and many farm fields during
the same period produced 5 to 8 tons more than the average when
stand, fertilizer, and irrigation water were optimized. A substantial
part of the lower average yield may be due to a poor plant stand at
maturity on farmers' sugarbeet fields rather than to fertility or irrigation
practices. Narrower rows at optimum fertility and irrigation levels,
while maintaining adequate space for modern farm machinery, may
improve average yields by increasing yield compensation (when frequent
skips occur) and by providing an earlier full leaf canopy.
This experiment was conducted to determine the effect of plant
population, as varied by row width while maintaining a uniform
within-row stand, and N level on beet root and sucrose production
under the climatic conditions of southern Idaho
Modeling Water and Nitrogen Behavior in the Soil-Plant System
A set of dynamic mathematical relations is
developed for the major variables of soil water,
nitrate, ammonium, available organic nitrogen,
and plant growth and nitrogen uptake. Daily
climatic conditions are used to control evapotranspiration
and modify the rates of plant
growth and soil processes. Inputs of irrigation
water and fertilizer can be controlled to reduce
leaching of nitrate
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