A NEW SMART PROCESS FOR PIPELINE INTEGRITY MONITORING

Most of the prospecting areas used for hydrocarbon exploitation in the Niger Delta were originally virgin lands but has suffered urban encroachment such that any hydrocarbon loss of containment would lead to pollution, loss of lives, major fires, and loss of major assets. Pipeline loss of containment during petroleum evacuation were mainly due to corrosion but around the year 2000, pipeline vandalism which started as a way of protesting lack of development projects by host communities, rapidly grew into an industry for crude theft through hot tapping. The cost of crude oil theft is estimated at £1bln per month and it is reported that some 1000 people have died due to pipeline explosion in Nigeria within the period 2004 to 2014. Several unsuccessful initiatives like amnesty and employment of repentant oil thieves by government; burying originally surface pipelines, and regular helicopter surveillance overflies along pipeline routes were attempted to arrest the pipeline vandalism environment. This research is a new initiative in the fight against crude oil theft through a technical process that provide an early information to the operator of the position and rate of crude oil theft such that the situation could be appropriately arrested, thereby creating revenue security, preventing loss of containment fires, and potential deaths that could have arisen if there is explosion due to loss of containment. Two analytical methods, which uses the pipeline pressure gradient as a basis were independently verified in leak point identification and leak rate estimation in the proposed smart process for pipeline integrity monitoring. The leak point identification is based on pressure gradient relaxation while the leak rate estimation is based on enclosed angle vector relaxation. A near perfect (100%) accuracy in leak point determination and a 93.44% average leak rate prediction accuracy was demonstrated based on the proposed smart process for pipeline integrity monitoring. Some of the advantages of this new process is simplicity, retrofit ability and no demand for skills reassessment for operators as it fits into normal operations. The enclosed angle vector relaxation concept, which is one of the main contributions of this research: is a new knowledge addition to Physis and Fluid Mechanics; a discovery and a process invention

Impact of Unemployment on Nigerian Economic Development: A Study of Selected Local Government Area in Anambra State, Nigeria

The problem of unemployment in Nigeria is a national issue that should be handled with care. The rate of unemployment in Nigeria since 1973 has been growing in a geometric progression. Its source could be traced to the diversification of Nigeria economy into oil sector that only provides less than 10% employment opportunity to its labour force. The purpose of this study was to find out the causes of unemployment in Nigeria and how it has impeded the economic development. These and others form the researcher's reason for this study. Descriptive research design was adopted. The population includes all the unemployed youth from the three selected Local Government Council (Oyi, Idemili North and South) which its figure is estimated to be about 2.3 million youth (NPC, 2006). 30 youths were drawn from each of the Local Government Council. Convenience sampling technique was applied. Both primary and secondary data source was used. Pearson correlation test was used for the test of hypotheses. The results of the test hypotheses revealed that unemployment impedes the economic growth and development of Nigeria. Government programmes have in many ways helped in tackling the problems of unemployment in Nigeria. There are possible ways that could be put forward in ensuring the reduction of unemployment level in Nigeria. Furthermore, the paper recommends that the federal government should hasten the power sector reforms and re-stabilize the power sector to end the looming energy crisis in Nigeria. In order to encourage entrepreneurial activities which are believed to be the remote cause of unemployment problem in Nigeria? Keywords: Unemployment, Economic Development, Causes and Consequences, Way forwar

EFFECT OF ECOLOGICAL MARKETING ON SURVIVAL OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA.

The state of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) is deteriorating, and the environment is irrational in a way that has led to many businesses, especially SMEs, collapsing early in their existence. In this study, the survival of SMEs in the state of Anambra was examined in relation to ecological marketing. Descriptive survey methodology was used in the study.  All SMEs in Anambra State make up the study's population, and 384 people were chosen for the sample through the use of a purposive sampling technique. As a result, respondents were asked to complete a structured questionnaire. Data analysis techniques used included multiple regression analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and Pearson's correlation. Technology, sociocultural factors, and economic factors all had a positive and significant impact on the study's findings regarding the survival of SMEs. However, in Anambra State, political factors have a significant and detrimental impact on SMEs' ability to survive. In light of this, the study came to the conclusion that ecological marketing significantly affects SMEs' ability to survive in Anambra State, Nigeria. Additionally, it claimed that businesses are on the verge of extinction if they don't recognise and act quickly on the new trends and problems in their environment. However, this study recommended strengthening the regulatory framework as well as providing adequate infrastructure facilities for SMEs to survive in Nigeria

SOCIAL MEDIA: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF ITS EFFECT ON STUDENTS’ SHOPPING HABITS

The adoption of social media by students in Nigeria has remained a fast and welcome development and has been used in the transfer of title in many ways. The reason for this study is to examine the effect of social media advertisement on students’ shopping habit in Nigeria, as well as examine the effect of social media credibility on students’ shopping habits in Nigeria. The research focused on internet users (students) from five selected Local Government Councils (Oyi, Idemili North and South, Onitsha North and South) particularly those who use social media sites. Data was collected using questionnaires and interviews from the population of internet users of the selected five selected Local Government Councils. A sample of 150 internet users was drawn from the population. Regression statistics was used to analyse the established variables. The test conducted show that social media advertisement and credibility has significant effect on students’ shopping habit. Based on the outcome of the findings, the authors recommend that advertisers should give all the details that are needed for easy patronage of the products. In addition, users of social media in promotion of products, especially manufacturers and middlemen, should know that the credibility of any social platform creates an added advantage to the profit of that organization.  Article visualizations

Effect of Cyber Security on Business Sustainability of Listed Microfinance Banks in Nigeria

In Nigeria, microfinance banks (MFB) face the burden of investing in cyber security to protect their databases, prevent monetary losses, maintain customer trust, and remain afloat in a competitive business environment. However, there are incessant cyber risks and attacks by criminals who gain undue access to the cyber-space of MFB and cause financial and non-financial loss. The objective of this quantitative study was to examine the effect of cyber security on the business sustainability of three listed, and most valued MFBs in Nigeria. The population of the study was 315 senior, medium and junior employees of three MFBs in Nigeria. As the target population was manageable, the research adopted a census. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, and the formulated hypothesis was analysed using multiple regression. The study found that cyber security has a significant and positive impact on the sustainability of MFB in Nigeria. Data availability account for the largest contribution to the sustainability of MFBs, followed by data confidentiality and data integrity. Employees in a MFB uphold that data availability, confidentiality, and integrity are pivotal elements of cyber security that influence the sustainability of their organisations in Nigeria. Given these results from the viewpoint of employees, MFBs are implored to regularly review and strengthen their risk management strategy and adopt a more integrative approach of human-centric cybersecurity, which brings technology and human elements together to address current and future cyber risks and build and sustain consumer trust in digital financial transactions. The implication of the study and areas for future research are highlighted

Effect of Cyber Security on Business Sustainability of Listed Microfinance Banks in Nigeria

Purpose: In Nigeria, microfinance banks (MFB) face the burden of investing in cyber security to protect their databases, prevent monetary losses, maintain customer trust, and remain afloat in a competitive business environment. However, there are incessant cyber risks and attacks by criminals who gain undue access to the cyber-space of MFB and cause financial and non-financial loss. Design/methodology/approach: The objective of this quantitative study was to examine the effect of cyber security on the business sustainability of three listed, and most valued MFBs in Nigeria. The population of the study was 315 senior, medium and junior employees of three MFBs in Nigeria. As the target population was manageable, the research adopted a census. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire, and the formulated hypothesis was analysed using multiple regression. Findings: The study found that cyber security has a significant and positive impact on the sustainability of MFB in Nigeria. Data availability account for the largest contribution to the sustainability of MFBs, followed by data confidentiality and data integrity. Employees in a MFB uphold that data availability, confidentiality, and integrity are pivotal elements of cyber security that influence the sustainability of their organisations in Nigeria. Given these results from the viewpoint of employees, MFBs are implored to regularly review and strengthen their risk management strategy and adopt a more integrative approach of human-centric cybersecurity, which brings technology and human elements together to address current and future cyber risks and build and sustain consumer trust in digital financial transactions. The implication of the study and areas for future research are highlighted. Paper type: Research pape

Assessment of Cultural Influences on Entrepreneurial Activities of Small Manufacturing Firms in Nnewi, Nigeria

  This study examined the assessment of cultural influences on entrepreneurial activities of small manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The study adopted the survey method with emphasis on small manufacturing firms in Nnewi. 98 manufacturing firms were sampled. The study results agreed that cultural influences affect SME’s/entrepreneur’s ability to succeed and survive. There is need to emphasis the educational and leadership factors by encouraging the age-long individuality of igbo man. Generally, just as other cited authors have sounded a note of warning, the significance of the relationship between factors of entrepreneurial success and the cultural environment should be applied with caution

Smart offshore structure for reliability prediction process

A review of the developments within the field of structural reliability theory shows that some gaps still exist in the reliability prediction process and hence there is an urgent desire for improvements such that the estimated structural reliability will be capable of expressing a physical property of the given structure. The current reliability prediction process involves the continuous estimation and use of reliability index as a way of estimating the safety of any given structure. The reliability index β depends on the Probability Density Function (PDF) distribution for the wave force and the corresponding PDF of resistance from respective structural members of the given structure. The PDF for the applied wave force will depend on the PDF of water depth, wave angular velocity and wave direction hence the reliability index as currently practiced is a statistical way of managing uncertainties based on a general probabilistic model. This research on Smart Offshore Structure for Reliability Prediction has proposed the design of a measurement based reliability prediction process as a way of closing the gap on structural reliability prediction process. Structural deflection and damping are some of the measurable properties of an offshore structure and this study aims at suggesting the use of these measurable properties for improvements in structural reliability prediction process. A design case study has shown that a typical offshore structure can deflect to a range of only a few fractions of a millimetre. This implies that if we have a way of monitoring this level of deflection, we could use the results from such measurement for the detection of a structural member failure. This advocated concept is based on the hypothesis that if the original dynamic characteristics of a structure is known, that measurement based modified dynamic properties can be used to determine the onset of failure or failure propagation of the given structure. This technology could reveal the location and magnitude of internal cracks or corrosion effects on any given structure which currently is outside the current probability based approach. A simple economic analysis shows that the recommended process shows a positive net present value and that some $74mln is the Value of Information for any life extension technology that could reveal the possibility of extending the life of a given 10,000bopd production platform from 2025 to 2028

Effects of entrepreneurial marketing on the survival of manufacturing small and medium enterprises in South-East Nigeria.

Doctoral degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Many manufacturing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria cease to exist before their fifth birthday. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of entrepreneurial marketing on the survival of manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria and to develop a new integrative entrepreneurial marketing model that would help ensure the survival of SMEs in Nigeria. The quantitative study adopted positivism as the research paradigm. Using a quantitative research design, stratified random sampling was employed to select owner-managers of manufacturing SMEs in the South-East geo-political zone of Nigeria. A survey was used to collect data via a structured questionnaire administered to 364 owner-managers. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were used to test the reliability after a pilot study had been conducted. Exploratory fact analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to validate the findings. The descriptive statistics were used to analyse data relating to the demographics of owner-managers and dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing. Inferential statistics, such as Pearson’s correlation coefficient, multiple regressions analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) were applied to test the hypotheses via IBM SPSS statistics version 25 and IBM SPSS AMOS version 25. The results indicated that entrepreneurial marketing has a direct and significantly positive impact on manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. The tested integrative EM model also indicated that proactiveness, calculated risk-taking, resource leveraging, customer intensity, value creation, market sensing and teamwork have a direct and significantly positive effect on SMEs’ survival. However, innovativeness, which is considered as one of the key dimensions of entrepreneurial marketing, shows a significant but negative effect on SME survival. Alliance formation showed no significant effects. In the light of these results, the study developed a new model of entrepreneurial marketing for manufacturing SMEs by incorporating teamwork and market sensing in the existing model. The new integrative entrepreneurial marketing model is valuable, not only to owner-managers to enhance the survival of their businesses and reduce failures, but also to academics as a basis for robust future research. Therefore, the study recommended the adoption of the new integrative entrepreneurial marketing model in the management of manufacturing SMEs to aid survival

Entrepreneurial marketing: Exploring its place in social enterprises

The activities of social enterprises have been neglected despite the efforts of the government, individuals, and other supportive agencies. Much of this neglect could be attributed to the failure to adopt suitable business model/entrepreneurial marketing (EM) models that address the many challenges these enterprises face. This paper aims to evaluate extant literature and models on EM to propose a new and comprehensive model for social enterprises. In this pursuit, a background literature review on EM was conducted in several peer-reviewed journals. Eight core dimensions were adapted from existing models: social innovativeness, social proactiveness, socially calculated risk-taking, social resources leveraging, social customer intensity, social value creation, social market sense, and social alliance. Based on these dimensions, a new and all-inclusive model of SEM is proposed. This paper concludes that applying these EM dimensions to social enterprises would significantly promote innovative and sustainable success