Liberal Economics, Governance, and Official Development Assistance: Empirical Comments on Theoretical Themes

This study presents a comparative analysis of the relative impact of official developmental assistance/foreign aid (ODA) that was given by the OECD countries to select developing countries of the South (sub-Saharan Africa) during the last decade of the Cold War (1980-1990), and the immediate Post-Cold War period (1990-2002). Firstly, this study seeks to illuminate the specific role of foreign aid and its contributory effect in the economic growth and development of these countries between the two time periods, and secondly, delineates specific institutional and governance problems and how these militate against a more effective application of foreign aid or official development assistance. Findings from the data analysis indicate that ODA had no noticeable effect on economic growth as measured by average annual percentage change in GDP growth. While inflation had a negative effect on annual GDP growth during the last decade of the Cold War, it was relatively inconsequential in the period following the end of the Cold War. Only the human development index had a positive impact on annual GDP growth during the post-Cold War years (1990-2002) –suggesting that sub-Saharan Africa countries would need to develop a more robust institutional capacity and human capital skills as a prerequisite for aid effectiveness

Experimental and finite element analysis of Cu and Nb severely deformed by 3-axis forging

Abstract The evolution of microstructure during 3-Axis Forging (3AF) of OFHC Copper and RRR Niobium has been investigated using both experimental and numerical simulation techniques. The finite element analysis (FEA) aspect was carried out using DEFORM, a commercial software. The 3AF process was conducted at 25° C with a cross-head speed of 0.015 mm s −1 and a strain per pass of 0.2. Vickers hardness testing and orientation imaging microscopy (OIM) showed that the evolution of microstructure during 3AF can be classified into three regions: At low strain, region I, in which the high angle grain boundary percentage (HAGB%) declines due to the increase in low angle grain boundary (LAGB) resulting from dynamic recovery. At intermediate strain, region II, there is a progressive increase in HAGB%, due to the conversion of most of the LAGB to high angle grain boundaries (HAGB). This is followed by region III, in which the HAGB% remains relatively unchanged due to a stable microstructure formed by continuous recrystallization. Assessment of the grain size revealed that refinement occurred in regions I and II, resulting in a final grain size of about 2.0 μ m and 1.4 μ m in Cu and Nb, respectively. Flownet analysis of the first two cycles showed that four deformation zones similar to the hardness pattern were developed in both materials during the 3AF. These zones correlated well with the effective strain and hardness distributions. The highest effective strain and hardness were found in the core of the material (zone A), while the least hardness developed at the edges (zones C and D)

Relationship between the Responses of Biology and English Teachers on Extrinsic motivational factors Provision for Teachers and Students’ Academic Achievement in Adamawa State

This study investigated the relationship between the responses of Biology and English teachers on extrinsic motivational factors provision to teachers and students’ academic achievement in Adamawa State. The design of the study was survey research design. Two research questions and two null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The sample of the study comprised 64 Biology and English teachers and 182 Biology and English students’ selected by stratified random sampling technique from the five educational zones of the State. Data were collected with Relationship Between Teachers’ Extrinsic motivation Questionnaire (RBTEMQ) and Biology and English Achievement Tests (BAT and EAT). The RBTEMQ was constructed by the researchers on five point scale while BAT and EAT were multiple choice objective tests. The RBTEMQ was face validated while BAT and EAT were both face and content validated. The reliability coefficient of RBTEMQ was estimated with Cronbach alpha method which gave an internal consistency reliability coefficient of 0.74; that of BAT and EAT were estimated with Kuder – Richardson formula 20 which gave internal consistency reliability coefficients of 0.75 and 0.76 respectively. Data were analyzed with mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while Pearson Product Moment Correlation method was used to test the hypotheses. Results revealed that the provision of extrinsic motivational factors to Adamawa State teachers was low but there is significant relationship between the responses of Biology and English teachers on the provision of extrinsic motivational factors for teachers and students’ academic achievement. It was recommended among others that Adamawa State government should provide adequate extrinsic motivational factors for teachers. Key words: Relationship, extrinsic motivation factors for teachers, students’ academic achievement

Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence and Transformational Leadership: A Correlation Analysis

The study was designed to explore the degree of relationship between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership style. Goleman who popularized the concept of the science of emotional intelligence and brought it to its academic zenith drew on a wealth of research to argue that successful leaders need emotional intelligence, or the attributes of self-awareness, impulse control, persistence, confidence, self-motivation empathy, social deftness, trust worthiness, adaptability, and a talent of collaboration. Data were generated through 5 – point Likert-type questionnaire based on Schutte, Self Report questionnaire. Pearson’s correlation analysis was carried out through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, and a strong positive correlation of r = .90, was found between emotional intelligence and transformational leadership style

Analysis of the Determinants of Repurchase Intention of Soap Products of an Agribusiness Firm in Abia State, Nigeria

The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that determine the consumers repurchase intention, analyze thesocio/economic characteristics of customers of Pz Cussons Nigeria soap products, determine the relationshipbetween customer satisfactions, perceived value and branding as most major variables that influence theconsumers repurchase intention. The data used for analysis were collected via questionnaire. The technique ofdata analysis employed were simple descriptive statistics such as means, percentages, tables and frequencies;Pearson product moment correlation and stepwise multiple regression analysis. The findings of the study showedthat perceived value, brand preference and customer satisfaction are significant and positively correlated withrepurchase intention. The factors affecting the consumers repurchase intention of the soap products under studiedincluded production of low quality goods, improper use of distribution channels, lack of promotional campaignto back up the product and the use of improper pricing policy adequate for the product. It is recommended thatagribusiness marketing firms should produce and market high quality products since perceived value , brandpreference and customer satisfaction were major determinants of repurchase intention in the study area

Multidisciplinary use of LCA and empirical data to improve the environmental sustainability and industrial viability of Kraft pulp mill

About 4% of the world energy is used to produce paper and it takes 300 -2600 m3 of water to produce 1 tonne of A4 sheet (Van Oel and Hoekstra 2012). Hence, the key aim of this research is to use a multi-disciplinary approach involving life cycle assessment (LCA) and empirical methodology to improve the environmental sustainability and industrial viability of the conventional Kraft pulp mill. The life cycle assessment methodology (LCA) used to study the Kraft pulp mill identified energy as the elementary flow with most impact closely followed by water. The chemical recovery unit was identified as the process unit of highest concern followed by the washing and screening process unit. The LCA study suggested that using smaller wood particle size during cooking would reduce energy consumption and emission to the air. Furthermore, the use of a re-usable liquid as part of the washing process could reduce water consumption and enable the recovery of extractable chemicals in the form of a green crude. The empirical data showed that reducing the particle size from 8mm currently used in the conventional Kraft process to < 2mm could save up to 20% energy during pulp production. Replacing part of the water during washing with recoverable hexane could reduce water consumption during the pulp washing close to 37%. In addition, using hexane as a replacement for water enabled approximately 19% green crude recovery from particle size <2mm cooked in 30mins based on initial dry wood weight. The recovery of green crude could transform the Kraft pulp mill into a potential biorefinery. The LCA outcome indicated that the impact of energy generation on climatic change is equivalent to about 713 kgCO2eq for a conventional Kraft mill and this was reduced by 20% to about 570 kgCO2eq for the proposed Kraft biorefinery. In conclusion, the combination of LCA and empirical methodology showed how a Kraft pulp mill could be transferred into a more sustainable and industrially viable biorefinery resulting in lower environmental impact and producing green chemicals from wood

The Effect of Industrial Development on Economic Growth (An Empirical Evidence in Nigeria 1973-2013)

The effect of industrial development on the economic growth of Nigeria has over the past decade been a recurring issue for analysis like every economy most especially developing economies. Nigeria has enjoyed a long period of sustained economic growth since 2001 and yet, there is poor contribution from the industrial sector to the country’s GDP. There are various studies that have supported that industrial development is a pathway to sustainable economic growth. Thus, this research investigated the effect industrial development on the Nigeria’s economic growth 1973 - 2013. PC Give 8.00 version statistical package was used to analyze the secondary data that was collected from National statistical bulletin. GDP was used as the dependent variable, while foreign direct investment, industrial output, total savings and inflation was used as the independent variables. The model explain that the influence of industrial output on economic growth is not statistically significant, though the sign obtained from its àpriori expectation is positively related to (economic growth) GDP but does not hold strong enough. Savings has a positive relationship and also significant impact on the economy. Inflation has a negative relationship while net foreign direct investment is positively significant on the impact of economic growth. R-squared shows a 76% increase on the GDP. Based on the findings, it is therefore recommended that the government and its agencies should ensure political stability and also the implementation of strategic policies that will create a fair playing grounds for foreign investors which will also improve the establishment of industries especially the manufacturing industries to encourage industrialization of the Nigerian economy as this will facilitate the strengthening of economic growth (GDP). Increase in savings will make money available for the economy through high interest rate and income adjustments from the monetary policy. The Bank of Industry (BOI) should be ready to aid Nigerian industrialization along Nigeria’s line of development and not a total shift to accepting models which worked elsewhere given their environment and circumstance which differs from place to place

Reaction of Banks and Insurance Companies’ Stocks to Acts of Terrorism - An Event Study Approach

The paper examines the reaction of banks and insurance companies’ stocks listed on the Nigerian Stock Market to two major terrorist events (the bomb blast on October 1, 2010-Nigeria’s 50th independence anniversary day, and the bombing of the United Nation’s (UN) embassy office on August 26, 2011, all in Abuja). The data stream for the study consisted of the Nigerian Stock Exchange Daily Official list on some selected banks and insurances stocks over the event period of eight (8) days for both the United Nation’s (UN) embassy office bombing and the October 1 bomb blast respectively. Using the standard event study methodology and the single-factor market model, the study finds that of the two terrorist events, only the October 1, 2010 attack resulted in significant negative abnormal returns in the Nigerian stock market. The UN office bombing, though expectedly resulted in a negative abnormal return, the abnormal return was however not statistically significant at 5% level and only occurred a day after the event day, suggesting that the stock prices reacted rather slowly. The study therefore recommends that the federal government of Nigeria should explore ways of reducing the frustration of her citizens because the consistent neglect by successive governments to improve on the well-being of the commoners in this oil-rich nation has always led to frustration and aggression, and these are popular substratum for terrorism. Keywords: Terrorism, banks, insurances companies, event study, stock market

Pethidine and bupivacaine spinal anaesthesia: a comparative evaluation of postoperative complications and recovery profile

Background: Bupivacaine is commonly used as a sole agent for spinal anaesthesia unlike Pethidine. This study compares the immediate postoperative complications and recovery profile following spinal anaesthesia with pethidine and bupivacaine.Methods: Fifty-two patients who required short duration surgical procedures below the umbilicus were randomized to receive spinal anaesthesia with pethidine 1mg/Kg and 2.5 mL 0.5% bupivacaine. Time to recovery of pin prick sensation at S2, plantar flexion, proprioception of the big toe, and full motor recovery were compared for the two agents. Complications of pain, sedation, nausea and vomiting, pruritus and urinary retention in the immediate postoperative period were also compared.Results: Comparing Pethidine and Bupivacaine, time to return of pinprick sensation at S2 was 94.62±20.25 and 205.96±31.05 minutes respectively; return of plantar flexion was 92.88±12.01 and 193.85±39.56 minutes respectively; recovery of proprioception of the big toe was 31.15±9.41 and 172.50±42.70 minutes respectively; complete motor recovery was 47.89±14.08 and 221.73±44.72 minutes respectively. All the differences in recovery times were statistically significant (p<0.0001). There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of pain and sedation. Only 4 (15.38%) patients in the Bupivacaine group experienced mild pain. There was no incident of nausea and vomiting. However, pethidine group experienced pruritus (19.22%) and bupivacaine group none. Bupivacaine group also had urinary retention (11.54%), while pethidine group had none. These differences were statistically significant (p=0.01).Conclusions: Pethidine exhibited a shorter recovery profile than Bupivacaine and also caused no significant complication in the immediate postoperative period

Evaluation of forest policy in Nigeria: A case study of Edo State

The research was undertaken from 1997-2000 to investigate how forest policy has faired in meeting the set objectives in forestry contexts and development in study area. The result showed that deforestation and consolidation of forest reserves accounted for 73.64 and 3.10%, respectively. The result also revealed that there was significant difference in the participation of professional foresters and taskforce as well as regeneration and exploitation of forest resources (P&lt;0.05). It also revealed that there were significant differences among the threats to forest protection (P&lt;0.05) and further analysis with LSD identified trespass as the most dominant threats. The result also showed that the increase in employment, creation of man made forest and encouragement of private forestry accounted for 41.65, 19.85 and 10.19% respectively. It was observed that there was no significant difference among the various rates of decline of the forest estates under review